Same ‘Ole, Same ‘Ole

Please indulge me if I use a quotation from the Psalms, because in many ways not much has changed in more than 2000 years. The unbridled personal and structural self-indulgence which led to the current worldwide economic meltdown reminds me that the exploitation of men by other men is as rife now as it was then:

“Defend me, O God, and plead my cause
against a godless nation.
From deceitful and cunning men
rescue me, O God”

Throughout remote history, helpless people pleaded to God for relief from those who took advantage of them. By 2008, mankind should have made quantum leaps toward the Golden Rule, don’t you think? Here we are centuries later; whom are we to trust? To whom among us do we plead?

Palin’s Popularity

The reaction to Palin since she was chosen as McCain’s running mate has been at polar extremes, much of it virulently negative. I don’t know why. To listen to some people, you’d think that Alaska is a third-world country.

Antagonists either stigmatize her or treat her as though she has no grey matter between the ears. Even Kathleen Parker, a prominent conservative columnist, has come down hard on Palin. The piling on continues. Let me share with you what I think:

Sarah Palin is intelligent. That’s right, intelligent. Without smarts, you don’t get to be a governor and to survive and thrive in the political battles which she won in Alaska. Her detractors would like to label her as the brunette version of a dumb blonde – both sexist insults, but political correctness restrains them from saying what they think. She is tough. After getting bushwhacked several times in a couple of unprepared TV interviews, she jumped right back into the fight, seemingly stronger than before, a quick learner.

She is even-tempered. Not once have I seen her lose her cool under relentless campaign pressure. She evokes jealously: Palin has had the guts to have succeeded in a man’s world while simultaneously achieving what women do splendidly – being a loving wife and mother. That has got to stick in the craw of the dying breed of 1960’s-style feminists. She can be self-deprecating; that was evident in her appearance on Saturday Night Live.

She has a magnetic personality and is the best- looking woman on the campaign circuit: Is she supposed to apologize for that? Is she supposed to put a bag on her head? The woman has charisma and is using it almost effortlessly to her advantage. And why not? Others only wish.

OK! OK! She doesn’t have any international exposure and foreign policy experience. She hasn’t hobnobbed with the Washington, D.C. cocktail party crowd. She isn’t a national economics whiz. She doesn’t come from an ivy-league school. She doesn’t charm the New York Times. She doesn’t have the sophistication of Northeast intellectuals and the approval of Hollywood narcissists.

Nor has she taken bribes; or slept around like so many of our prominent Washington officials; or become addicted to drugs, drinking and drunk driving, like a few D.C. Senators and Representatives from prominent families; or aborted a Down Syndrome baby; or taken to abandoning a practicing faith; or rejected her daughter for getting pregnant; or gone along to get along with her own Republican party caught up in scandal and bribery in Alaska.

Whatever else may be said, the woman has integrity.

Too Smart for Their Own Britches

On October 23, 2008, former Fed Chief Alan Greenspan appeared before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to testify about the recent credit freeze caused by the sub-prime mortgage mess. He read from a prepared text and then took what were mainly softball questions from committee members.

I pored over every word contained in Greenspan’s written testimony before that committee. I also listened carefully to Greenspan’s response to questions from the House panel. This is a man of great intelligence who simply cannot sit before other people and express in common language what he did and why he did it.

Greenspan was a key factor in causing the credit markets to fall apart. He kept interest rates too low, too long, and refused to introduce regulatory measures that might have kept the house of cards from crumbling. His written testimony was more like an excuse than an explanation. I won’t bore you with all of the 50-cent words that he used as a shield.

Greenspan’s basic and most absurdly memorable explanation for the sub-prime fiasco was to state its cause as originating from, “A flaw in the model that I perceived is the critical functioning structure that defines how the world works.” Huh! Is he kidding? Please read that quote again. With a straight face, Greenspan told everyone within earshot not only that there is a complex mathematical computer model that defines how the world goes ‘round & ‘round, but that the model is a financial one. How overly simplistic!

It appears that while he was Fed Chairman, Greenspan placed great faith in economic models. Although he did not specify in his testimony the one to which he referred, there are several candidates. One is known by its abbreviation, CAPM (The Capital Asset Pricing Model). Another is the Black–Scholes model. Developers of both received Nobel Prizes for their work.

Greenspan defended the use of computerized risk management models which became the backbone for the trading of mortgage-backed securities. Heck, he testified, there was nothing wrong with them; it’s just that people didn’t feed in the right data.

So many smart people, so little wisdom. Have I said that before?

Loins, Politics, & Religion

When Joe Biden addressed a group of supporters at a fundraiser on Sunday night, his comments were notable for at least three reasons. One, Biden rattled his handlers with, “Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy . . . we’re going to have . . . an international . . . generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy . . . I promise you it will occur.”

Two, Biden made these comments and others like it before he realized that print journalists were in the room, after which he promptly concluded his address, stating, “I probably shouldn’t have said all this because it dawned on me that the press is here.”

Three, in his remarks that evening, Biden used Biblical language in explaining that the “generated crisis” would engender a response by Barack Obama that would be hugely unpopular and would cause his standing to plummet in the polls. Americans would, according to Biden, have to “gird their loins.”

I’m not exactly thrilled with the idea that Obama, the man who is supposed to get us out of Iraq, is according to Biden, going to turn into a hawk in the first six months of 2009 in order to prove his mettle. Besides, Biden didn’t get the term right.

Although I have read several internet interpretations of the Biblical expression that “girding their loins” means simply securing one’s belt a little tighter, that’s not what it indicates.

The expression appears in several places and forms in Scripture. Its original intent in some of the earliest writings of the Bible, as in 1 Kings, refers to getting ready for battle. In this context, it signifies that a fighter “draws up and ties his lower garments between his legs as to increase mobility and agility.” Although the practice varied as the centuries progressed, there is nothing peaceful about it.

Later in time, in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul speaks about “taking on the whole armor of God . . . and, having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist." Paul continues, “Take the shield of faith.” These are intended as words of internal fortitude and of peaceful resistance, not of warfare. To which of the two meanings was Joe Biden referring?

Autumn Leaf Peeping

Since this could be the last favorable weekend to view the sunny brilliance of autumn foliage in the Garden State, Priscille and I decided to grasp the opportunity. Starting in Bridgewater, we drove northwest onto the byways of Warren County early this afternoon. When we embark upon one of these short local motor trips, we always end up meandering along scenic back roads in a random fashion.

Today was no exception. Our goal was to let our eyes and minds soak in the palette of rich autumn colors found in the foliage spilling out along the roadside and on the rolling hills of New Jersey. We weren’t disappointed and both agreed that this year is one of the best for leaf peeping.

Eventually finding ourselves on State Road 519 in Belvidere, we stopped at the Four Sisters Winery at Matarazzo Farms. This winery offers plenty of choices, but one of my favorite local varietals is Beaver Creek Red. I like it because it’s made with love and skill from Concord grapes – semi-sweet, but not sugary. I came to appreciate the robust, full-bodied flavor that this type of grape produces when we lived for a time close to the wine country of New York’s Finger Lakes region, host to a wide variety of small wineries.

If anybody out there is in the market for changing careers and seeks to run a winery, Four Sisters is up for sale. We spotted an announcement to that fact as we checked out with three cherished bottles of Beaver Creek Red.