I heart Ron Paul. Fascinating read. He says...
“For most people, in fact, the Fed is a complete mystery, its operations incomprehensible. That seems to be just the way the Fed likes it. We are supposed to be bored by it. We are supposed to treat it as a given, like the air we breathe. We are supposed to have confidence in it..."
This is how I have felt about government in general. I have been bored/intimidated by politics. As I grow older, though, I realize I have a responsibility to pay attention to what my country is up to. I grabbed this book at the library on a recommendation by a friend and it was so good! I’m still thinking, but I agreed with most he had to say. It explained many of the current issues in layman’s terms. If nothing else, it was an interesting beginner’s look at economics. Here’s another quote for you.
“The federal funds rate rises when there is too much demand from banks looking to borrow and too little supply from banks willing to lend. For reasons we shall see in a moment, the Fed often wants to prevent the federal funds rate from rising. ...The way it pushes the rate down is by buying bonds from the banks. That gives the banks more money and therefore more reserves on hand to lend to banks that need it. Funds available to be lent to other banks are now less scarce, and a correspondingly lower federal funds rate reflects this. There does the Fed get the money to buy the bonds? It creates it out of thin air, simply writing checks...If that sounds fishy, then you understand it just fine.”
Other subjects of interest: empire building, blowback, decreasing privacy, increasing presidential power, drug laws, heathcare...you name it.
“For most people, in fact, the Fed is a complete mystery, its operations incomprehensible. That seems to be just the way the Fed likes it. We are supposed to be bored by it. We are supposed to treat it as a given, like the air we breathe. We are supposed to have confidence in it..."
This is how I have felt about government in general. I have been bored/intimidated by politics. As I grow older, though, I realize I have a responsibility to pay attention to what my country is up to. I grabbed this book at the library on a recommendation by a friend and it was so good! I’m still thinking, but I agreed with most he had to say. It explained many of the current issues in layman’s terms. If nothing else, it was an interesting beginner’s look at economics. Here’s another quote for you.
“The federal funds rate rises when there is too much demand from banks looking to borrow and too little supply from banks willing to lend. For reasons we shall see in a moment, the Fed often wants to prevent the federal funds rate from rising. ...The way it pushes the rate down is by buying bonds from the banks. That gives the banks more money and therefore more reserves on hand to lend to banks that need it. Funds available to be lent to other banks are now less scarce, and a correspondingly lower federal funds rate reflects this. There does the Fed get the money to buy the bonds? It creates it out of thin air, simply writing checks...If that sounds fishy, then you understand it just fine.”
Other subjects of interest: empire building, blowback, decreasing privacy, increasing presidential power, drug laws, heathcare...you name it.
Ok, back to a regular old post.Isaac is becoming too smart and independent. He will walk up to the desk and let go of my hand and whine. That means to lift him up so he can play with my laptop. If the laptop is closed he will pound on it and cry until I open it.
He loves doors. Medicine cabinet, dryer, dishwasher, cabinet, and bedroom doors. He will swing them open and shut open and shut while I make sure he doesn’t get his fingers caught. He does the laptop trick with doors too—he will walk to one and drop my hand and pout until I open the door so he can play with it. He thinks the hall in our condo building is part of our house and fair game to explore.
Just in case you all didn’t know, health insurance is such a pain! I had to switch to private insurance after Isaac was born and after my work insurance ran out. Anthem quoted me a certain price for it. Well, in our application I mentioned that Isaac had taken some reflux medication. He was a very fussy baby if anyone remembers and we tried acid reflux medication for two months to see if it would help. It never seemed to really do anything and Isaac’s fussiness went away by itself at about 3 or 4 months. (or did it? I swear he still whines all the time!) Our insurance decided that that was grounds for increasing our rate $30/month. I fought it, and I have never fought anything! Whenever anyone tells me to pay something I blindly swipe the credit card. My mom stopped sending me to the grocery store because I would always be overcharged. Anyway, it has been a four month process, back and forth back and forth. I think it’s silly that just because we tried some medicine and it didn’t work, I have to pay an extra $400 a year in health insurance. A few weeks ago I was issued a new card and rate. They dropped our rate $5, so now our rate is only $25/month higher than I was quoted. Thanks.
But life is good and it’s getting warm again! And tulips are my favorite flower! And thanks to everyone who posted on our April Fools joke--we didn't know so many people actually read this!
botanical gardens
rainy birthday at the zoo
some of our recent hike went like this
and some of it went like this.
