Knitwit

Rashly, I've taken up knitting again. I don't know how long this will last. My main goal is to finish the Harry Potteresque scarf I started 4 1/2 years ago. There are plans a cookin' to do more, but that's if I don't completely lose patience and throw out the skein of yarn first. Each section of different yarn I tie to the old with a slipknot results in a slightly longer row, which is having the affect of a gradual widening as I move forward. I guess I'm keeping this one for myself. Nobody else will want to wear my oddly geometric, slightly askew, first knitting attempt (and I don't blame them)!

Revisionist History, or More Myths I Learned in School

Do you remember being taught the glories of FDR’s New Deal policies in school? It seems that the New Deal may have actually prolonged the Great Depression instead of alleviating its ills. New Deal or Raw Deal? by Burton Folsom, Jr. explains how Roosevelt’s policies stifled business (especially small businesses), made earning a living especially hard for low income earners, and kept America behind Europe in economic recovery. Folsom even contends that it wasn’t World War II that pulled the U.S. out of the Depression; rather, businesses were more inclined to invest when the political climate was friendlier at the end of FDR’s term and during Truman’s presidency, which made capital flow again.

One interesting fact: At one point, Roosevelt taxed all personal income over $25,000 at a 100% rate, reasoning that nobody would ever make that much money. Amazing!