April's Randomnimity

Random tidbits not necessarily large enough their own dedicated blog post:

Economics and the Chicken-or-Egg?
Does economic news drive the market, or does the market drive economic news? I've been following economic news somewhat casually these days, and sometimes it seems that the market goes down based on what certain people say. So why don't these people keep on forecasting good news? And when presented with hard data on rougher times, just spin it into something good? This is, of course, somewhat of a joke, but who knows...perhaps economic news drives the market sometimes.

So as a public service, I hereby do my part to help the economy.

In a news release today, JunkMale announced a bright outlook on U.S. economic growth for the next century. With increased profits from all businesses nationwide, JunkMale suggests that everyone should save lots of money and invest it in the stock market so they can save for a proper retirement. JunkMale also forecasted that the Fed would lower interest rates and that useless government agencies such as the Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service would be drastically reduced or completely eliminated. Investors will undoubtedly perk at this news. JunkMale could not be reached for further comment.

Giuliani
...does not have my vote because he's an adulterer and a social liberal. If you consider moral character an important quality in a president, do consider that he's divorced twice and had an extramarital affair. I don't know about you, but that just doesn't click with me. And on the issue of abortion, he is what I consider wishy-washy; support the "woman's right [sic] to choose" but is personally against abortion. Give me a break. I'm all for choice where choice is due, but this is a human life we're talking about. The abortion issue is the make-or-break issue for me; I will never vote for a pro-death candidate, no matter how good he is on other issues.

Police in Iraq
Let me state that I do not condone killing of human beings. As far as loss of life goes in Iraq, it's somewhat of a lose/lose situation: if rules of engagement are loose or non-existent, then maybe more innocent Iraqis will die; if the rules are as thick as a phonebook, then our military men might suffer more deaths. Have ground troops in Iraq not been turned into a police force? Is policing not best done by police? As I recall, the military teaches its troops to kill, and to kill with deadly precision. Anyways, that's just an opinion, and I fully state that I have not done extensive research on that. Please feel free to correct me.

Pineapple
...is one of many gifts bestowed on mankind by a most gracious and loving God.