From Mr. Fish. One Man’s Booty…

Interesting article on how the current recession has impacted those of us in the baby boom generation. And some of us don’t have much hair left to die black.

Many out-of-work baby boomers have despaired as they wonder whether to trim their résumés to avoid giving away their decades of work experience, or to dye their hair.

Yes the blogging hiatus has failed to bring a job.  So I am off this morning to my regularly scheduled Monday morning volunteering for the growing group of homeless men and women in the Beverly Hills area. We have gone from an average of 80 -90 each Monday to a high, about two weeks ago of almost 190.

Today I am off to slice 130 pounds of ham.

• Cathleen Falsani has interviewed faith leaders and learned what they tell people who are suffering through this current economic hard time.
• A few summers ago (wow, it was 2001 immediately before 9-11) the media circus focused on the murder of Chandra Levy and the possible involvement of then Congressman Gary Condit.  Here’s an update from which the most interesting point to me is that her family is opposed to the death penalty for her killer if he is convicted. Robert Levy said he and his wife, Susan, were not told the identity of the person to be arrested “but we all know who it is.” He would not elaborate but said they would favor a life sentence for the killer.
• David Blankenhorn and Jonathan Rauch, coming from two different points of view, propose an interesting compromise on the issue of gay marriage.  I’m not sure how I feel about this after only a first reading, but it’s a proposal worth exploring.
• And, if you’ve been living under a rock, just a reminder that tonight is the 81st annual Academy Awards from down the street in Hollywood.  I usually miss most of the show but tonight am heading out to a party at friends which should be fun. Enjoy but better yet, see some of the movies worth seeing–Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Frozen River and Milk were my favorites.

Politicians of both parties are good at creating straw men and talking in sound bites that completely distort reality. One that recently got under my skin is feature in this cartoon. (Hat tip: Ellie).

• A bit of humor to start. “Although it was promised that the Meek shall inherit the Earth, there appear to have been some delays fulfilling this aspiration.”
• Joshua Kezer exonerated after spending 14 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. “This is proof that God is real,” Kezer said from prison. “This is proof. This is wonderful.”
• David Ignatius, on the media obsessing over the political ball game of the stimulus package while the Country suffers. “Did President Obama have a good day Tuesday when he signed the stimulus bill? You bet he did. But the point that weirdly seems to get relatively little attention is that it was a good day for millions of Americans who are getting hammered by the recession.”
• Arnold defends Obama and the stimulus package.
• Hypocritical GOP legislators now fight for money they opposed. Is anyone surprised?

After a couple of days where I was doing other things, mostly cooking, I’m back with a few recommendations for you:

• MoDo on “Cheney and the Goat Devil.”
• Marc Ambinder on the shifting tone among potential GOP presidential candidates on the issue of support for gay civil unions/marriage.
• Lots of interesting editorials and op-eds on bipartisanship and on the GOP just saying no. Thomas Frank on the media obsession with bipartisanship, James Morone on a historical picture of bipartisanship, and even Bush’s former speech writer, Michael Gerson thinks the GOP needs to move from its “No” posture.
• Thanks but no thanks for that senator from Chicago. As Ta-Nehisi Coates writes, “you have your black senator now, isn’t he a dandy.”
• A great article in The Atlantic on how the current economic crash will reshape America. It’s long so take the time to read it and weep (or not).
• Cathleen Falsani on is A-Rod forgivable.
• Paul Martin posts a new creed for the “Church of the Free Market.” All I have to add to that is, “Amen!.”
• And, finally, an interesting blog post on “Amish Hackers” by Kevin Kelly. Having grown up not too far from Amish Country in Pennsylvania, I found it an interesting read.

Will anyone care if the stimulus bill was bipartisan a year or two from now?  Won’t the issue be did it work or fail? (But, all the idiot talking heads can focus on is the former.)

• Frank Rich on the GOP’s early declaration of the death of the Obama presidency. “…Republicans are isolated in that parallel universe and believe all the noise in its echo chamber, they are now as out of touch with reality as the “inevitable” Clinton campaign was before it got clobbered in Iowa. The G.O.P. doesn’t recognize that it emerged from the stimulus battle even worse off than when it started.”
• Michael Moore’s next target–bankers.
• A win for equal rights in Utah as their GOP governor endorses civil unions and gay adoption. It won’t change their legislative action but it sure points to the way the wind is blowing on this issue.
• I missed this one yesterday but it’s worth pointing you to, as the NY Times editorial writers hit the nail on the head regarding the California Prison System and what needs to be done. “Like many states, California is putting too many people behind bars for too long, and it doesn’t have the money to build more facilities. Instead of appealing, as it has vowed to do, California should get to work overhauling its misguided incarceration policies. [.....] A large number of California prisoners are behind bars for technical parole violations. Others are in for minor, nonviolent crimes. Inmates like those can and should be released, and given help to reintegrate into society. The state’s limited prison space should be used for people who truly need to be there. It is not ideal when a court has to intervene so directly in managing prisons. But California has been unwilling, on its own, to run a prison system that complies with the Constitution.”
• And, from earlier in the week, the NY Times delves into the serious art of updating your Facebook status.

If 67% of Americans, according to this poll, believe they could do a better job managing the economy than our congress, why do so few participate in the system?