June 25, 2012

In Case You Missed It: Economic Slow Down, Electoral Motivations, Lebron & Mark Cuban, Contempt All Around, and Viral Fundraising

The international economic slow down seems to be continuing as Eurozone member Spain apparently requires 65 billion euros to shore up their banking sector. Spain has stated they believe 100 billion euros should do the trick, but CNN Money Ben Rooney really hits the nail on the head here when he says, ” It is also unclear exactly where the money will come from.” I don’t know about everyone else, but I feel like I’ve been brainwashed over the past 5 years to basically believe any astronomical amount of money can just be created straight out of thin air, especially when it’s for the banking sector.

A shocking video of a New York state bus monitor named Karen Klein was released on youtube and proved two things. 1) Yes, kids really do go Lord of the Flies on the school bus and 2) the internet can coalesce people around a completely wacky theme. As of the writing of this post over $600k had been raised through a viral campaign to send her on a vacation. According to mashable she won’t even have to pay taxes on this money.

Gas prices have continued to drop to an average below $80 a barrel due to a continued slow down in demand. Foreign Policy online did a solid piece on the effects of the coming oil crash on international autocrats, and Vladimir Putin in particular. The article also gives some good perspective on Saudi Arabia’s long economic plan and answers the question of why they would continue to pump so much oil and contribute to the falling price of petrol. Speaking of Saudi Arabia, the death of Crown Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz brings to light many questions of succession in the Kingdom that will be interesting to watch as the original sons of Saudi founder Abdul-Aziz bin Saud are all getting really old.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt of Congress this week for essentially refusing to share documents pertaining to the ATF program called “Fast and Furious.” Reuters gives a good explanation here of exactly what Contempt of Congress really means. Being held in Contempt of Congress seems slightly ironic when Congress is in fact held in contempt by the American people, due to its inability to come to a resolution pretty much anything. As a side note I feel the media needs to stop asking the question if a decision made in a Presidential election year was made “for political reasons” or because it was the right thing to do. The answer is always “both.” For instance, the Republicans’ shameful smear job on Brett McGurk and the President’s decision to use a new legal framework to essentially give amnesty (though Dems have tried to say it isn’t Amnesty) to 800,000 illegal immigrants are both prime examples. Everything until the election will have some level of political motivation.

Looks like fellow polife writer Joey got his wish this week as Lebron James won his first NBA title. Though I too was pulling for Lebron I have to say I’m most pleased about what the NBA Finals meant for ESPN First Take and Skip Bayless. Mark Cuban and Skip went back and forth on Twitter about the NBA Finals and Mr. Cuban decided to fly out to Miami to crush Skip’s soul. Mark calls Skip out for his massive generalizing, his egocentric outlook on sports, and his utter lack of basketball knowledge. It’s the worst public thrashing since the Nixon vs. Kennedy debates of 1960, and when Mark asks Skip questions about basketball that he has no idea how to respond to, it’s more awkward than The Office and twice as entertaining.