who’s your daddy?

'nuff said.

timing is everything.

Yes, it is. And coincidences don't happen very often, do they? So how is one to read the defacto nationalization of Russia's Yukos Oil? Being one of the largest producers in the world's second largest exporting nation, one would have to be unconscious to fail to grasp the buying panic this move would cause in the oil markets. And really unconscious to not see that such a trick would hit market economies below the belt -- one in particular, just before an election.

I don't like what this suggests about Putin's preference for President of the United States. I wish it were all a coincidence. But it seems like there are a few nations whose leaders would prefer a United States that isn't quite so strong.

Well, tough luck, boys.

who’s burning now, baby?

Recently, recordings of conversations among Enron energy traders were released to the media. These snippets painted pictures of arrogant and ruthless kids who weren’t afraid to disrupt the operation of an electrical generation plant in order to achieve the thrill of making a few more bucks. “Burn, baby, burn” chanted one, upon hearing the news that a forest fire would positively impact his long megawatt position. One can’t help but surmise that perhaps someone neglected to spank these kids when they tortured cats and charged their friends to see it, a few short years before.

There is a more enduring message in this spectacle, however, than the sickening thought of what happens when frat-boy mentality is coupled with too much power.

Consider the fact that it is a spectacle at all.

It is a spectacle because most of us find it revolting; it is a spectacle precisely because it is freakish in nature – it is an abberation of business, not business as usual.

To those who would call the Enron spectacle an example of “market failure,” I would point out rather that the whole debacle is a resounding market success, as witnessed by the fact that Enron is no longer around to bully the megawatt market. It is rapidly passing into history as less than a footnote, leaving a legacy of lessons learned with the absolute conviction that only comes from having paid such great price for them. We now pronounce the name “Enron” in a similar tone as we do “Benedict Arnold.”

Traders know that betting against fraud is a sure winner and Enron certainly did not disappoint. One of the beauties of free markets is that its participants ensure -- collectively, through the individual application of good sense by those with a stake in the game, a self-correcting action which, if allowed to work, reduces the damage done by rogue entities. As a result, Enrons always wind up crashing and burning.

good will

reprinted from last year.

Is Christmas too "commercial?" The parking lots were full today. Today, and in prior days, busy people took time out from their busy schedules, and, using money they usually work pretty hard for (or will in the future), they thought of people besides themselves.

They studied things and shopped and dealt with crowds and fatigue and spent more than they know they should have, seeking just the right gifts; frivolous with time and money.

And frivolous with Good Will, if there can be such a thing. But I think there can be no such thing as frivolity with Good Will toward Men, which is, after all, the Christmas Spirit.

So, if the retail trade gets carried away, and even if it misses the beauty completely, The Invisible Hand is at work; people motivated by thoughts of Good will toward others are spending dear wages, granting gainful, maybe even rewarding employment, providing for the needs and comforts of life, and the means for a better future, experiencing joy, some even a riot of joy, in the simple act of giving. The giver will not lose his reward.

And so spreading Good Will becomes the Project this industrious people sets itself to in this season, and they carry it off with excellence and gusto, as usual.

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests." Luke 2:14

And yes, His favor has on us rested. May it always be so. And may we always set ourselves to the spreading of Good Will. Perhaps the real driver of proseperity isn't our wits as much as it is our embracing of the Spirit of Good Will to Men.

United in America

There is more, much more, that unites us as Americans than there is that divides us. Political hostilities pale in comparison to the magnificence of our land, our legacy, our destiny.

We have much, indeed to be thankful for, much to fight for, much to work for, much to look forward to.

Immigrants arriving at Ellis Island raised their right hands and swore to defend their new homeland against all enemies, internal and external.

Is this why (legal) immigrants often make the most robust and thankful Americans? Because they are willing to take that oath, they are made of the right stuff.

Would it be such a bad idea for all citizens to affirm that oath every so often?