Greenspan is Turning Against Bush

It's not as dramatic as my post title sounds, but it's essentially true compared to his near complacency during Bush's first term. The Fed is becoming more worried about our trade and budget deficits. These deficits aren't new news but Greenspan is worried that their rate cuts fostered a false sense risk-taking and the FOMC's smart plan to raise rates has preempted any chance of a bubble in the housing market. This may sound boring to you guys, but it's pretty important. If our trade deficit continues at this pace, foreign investors will demand more returns on the dollars they own and we cannot afford that. Not to mention the chance they they'll turn to Europe for investments and leave us in the cold, which would be really really bad. Supposedly the White House is planning on trimming the budget, and I sure hope they do. The article is an interesting read and I'm surprised to learn of the turn of events with regard to Greenspan's successor.

I don't usually post on Sundays, but I thought I'd try a small one today and see if people actually read it. I watched Narc last night and I felt that it was a surprisingly good movie.



It's about this one cop (potrayed by Jason Patric) who gets discharged for accidentally shooting a pregnant women in pursuit of a criminal and is called back to help solve the murder case of the partner of another cop (portrayed by Ray Liotta). It turns out to be a rather interesting case and what's even better about the movie is how it incorporates their personal lives so well. Go see it if you ever get a chance to.

There were a couple of deaths recently. Johnny Carson died after a long battle with emphysema and though I didn't watch his show I still feel that he had a big impact on the evolution of late night television. You Bollywood fans may already know about the death of Parveen Babi, who starred in a ton of movies and was hailed as really bringing a lot of great style to the big screen.

Now for a couple of oddities. if you want to see the weirdest trailer ever made, check this out. Don't ask me what it means because I have no idea. And I warn you, it's extremely weird and slightly disturbing. The other oddity is this court decision regarding the rights of porn distributors. They decided that it wasn't the responsibility of the state to decide about people's morals, and I think that's a good idea. If you let the courts ban people from doing porn, when will it stop? What people do in the privacy of their home is their business as long as it's not kiddie porn and it doesn't hurt anyone else.

On a last note, the Barnes and Noble on the drag is closing down so I reccomend that you Austinites hurry up and cash in on the bargains because tons of stuff is 50% or 75% off. I got a $23 hardcover Stephen King book for $3! It's definitely worth a look for anyone in the area.

And now for a new meme, Unconscious Mutterings:

1. Material world::Material girl
   
2. Satin sheets::Comfortable bed
   
3. Blizzard::DQ Ice Cream :)
   
4. Real estate::Monopoly
   
5. Dress up::House House (I think Americans call it Housey?)
   
6. Wesley::Snipes
   
7. Robber::Jewel thief
   
8. Saliva::French kissing
   
9. Slave::Gimp
   
10. Shift::Stick shift (on a manual car)
    

If your thoughts are more interesting than mine, please comment with your answers.