From a subprime mortgage crisis to skyrocketing oil prices to sluggish consumer spending, the troubling evidence keeps piling up that the U.S. economy has slowed and may even be heading for a recession.
But Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (in photo) offered no holiday cheer in a congressional hearing Thursday, resisting calls from several lawmakers — most notably Sen. Sam Brownback — to stimulate the economy with an interest rate cut.
“It seems to me that now is the time,†Brownback told the Fed chief. “When those gas prices get up to $3 a gallon, it seems to hit some sort of psychological point in consumer’s mind that ‘I have less to spend,’ and that’s a reality for them.â€
Bernanke didn’t see a recession on the horizon, but he made it clear that the economy was going to get worse before it gets better.
All the more reason to appreciate Wichita’s surprisingly healthy economic vital signs going into the holiday season.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Think the coal supporters’ “smiling dictators†newspaper advertisement was over the top? It was nothing compared with the spoof negative ad that The Eagle’s Opinion staff produced. Our ad says that evil madmen — including Osama bin Laden and Albert Gore — are laughing about KDHE’s permit denial. And it warns that the smoking gun of natural gas could turn into a mushroom cloud. Here’s a link to a New York Times blog item about our ad.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
After Sept. 11, the CIA proposed an in-depth study of world religion. It was dismissed as “mere sociology.†Imagine the difference in the Iraqi conflict had guiding powers possessed a working understanding of the Sunnis’ and Shiites’ faith and interaction.
Religion is something we can no longer afford to be in denial about. Much of the world lives wrapped around religious convictions, which guide everything from society to foreign policy.
John Micklethwait of the Economist predicts that religion will be the defining aspect of the next century globally. Be it jihad or an entrenched caste system, religious conflict abounds around the world and controls the climate of globalization and international relationships.
Leading religious scholar Philip Jenkins projects that religion will be the “prime animating and destructive force in human affairs, guiding attitudes to political liberty and obligation, concepts of nationhood and, of course, conflicts and wars.â€
Posted by Kristin Mehler
Not only is waterboarding torturous to detainees and not an effective method of gathering reliable intelligence, it is corrosive to United States foreign policy and national security, as it is making other countries less likely to support us in future endeavors.
International polls show that it already has had an effect on some of our biggest allies. In Germany, 85 percent of the population think we are violating international law; in Great Britain, 65 percent think the same way.
With as many international missteps as we’ve had over the past few years, we could stand to keep a few friends.
Posted by Kristin Mehler
