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Just a quick post - family update: Aaron is now riding a bike!
I, like my father before me, have spent many hours behind Aaron, holding his bike steady and running while he pedals down the sidewalk. But this week, something clicked and he took off on his own.
We are of course all very proud of Aaron, and I'm sure we'll soon never see him again 
OK, So a little, let's call it "muted" reaction to my last post - "Why I won't Vote for a Woman". I didn't explain myself fully.
First and foremost, Elton John (a musician I adore) says that the reason Hillary Clinton is trailing in the Democratic Primary process in America is misogyny. He did not say that I won't vote for Hillary because I hate women. He said that America hates women, and therefore we would rather support an inexperienced man than an experienced woman. Forget what Bill Richardson says about a "once in a lifetime leader"... he's a man and therefore a vote for him is a vote from a misogynist. OK.
First question: did Elton John support Margaret Thatcher? Really? A conservative, anti-abortion, pro-war-with-the-Soviets conservative? The answer is, no he did not. I hope I don't need to prove this point. He had the opportunity to support a woman in a position of political power in his own damn country, and he didn't support her. Because she was from the wrong side of the political isle. He didn't agree with her.
But if we disagree with Hillary Clinton, he says it's because America hates Women.
Note to Elton: It's not about gender. It's about leadership. I'll still buy Elton's music, but I wish he would shut up about American politics (or any other for that matter...) something he clearly has no idea how to talk about clearly.Well, it had to come out sooner or later. See, Elton John is much smarter than me. He says that the REAL reason I won't vote for Hillary Clinton isn't because Barak Obama is a better leader, a better orator, or provides more hope for the future of America. No sir, Elton sees right through that excuse. The real reason is, I'm a misogynist. In other words, I hate women. It's the only logical explanation, after all.
Glad we cleared all that up.
MSNBC and just about everyone else today reported that the U.S. economy lost a whopping 80,000 jobs in March and unemployment shot up to 5.1%, the highest level it's been in recent memory. Even Ben Bernanke had to utter the "R Word".
We entered this week with a lot of people saying "It's a slowdown, stupid!" and claiming we'll see anemic, but not negative growth in the first quarter. We ended the week with all but confirmation that we are indeed in a recession now.
What's interesting, though, is how the market responded: the DJIA closed slightly off today at roughly 12,600 - up nearly 400 points for the week. What?
I think the recession (which, again, most of us don't fear, right?) was already priced in to the market, and here's the funny part: actually admitting it made the market go up. Now the market is more transparent - traders know what they're dealing with. It doesn't mean that the market is going to stay up, but it does mean that we're now past the denial stage and ready to accept our fate for the rest of the year.
It's like a 12-step program for economists.