Well, she is seeing the same polling numbers everyone else sees. And it's North Carolina we're talking about here so it's understandable that she's frustrated. But you never take it out on the kids.

I just listened to the podcast and was happy to hear James mention something about the "this page left intentionally blank" page. I've been talking about that for years! It makes no sense at all, mainly because it isn't true. The page wasn't left blank because there's writing on it. Huh.

So is this gone for good? Can someone take up that mantle again, whether as a host of a show or a President, let's say? 

If someone wanted to have that kind of appeal again what would it take? 

I'll agree with you that he's right to frame it in such emotional terms and try to come across as empathetic but I'm not sure that he was successful at it. I'm not so sure that his attempt at empathy went down well with those who disagree and I would even venture out and say independents as well. I don't think he moved the line on this issue and gained some ground.

Ha, great point. I believe we call heterosexuality. I believe Dr. Dyson is a heterosexual himself. Does that make him a Redneck-sexual? 

I just listened to the podcast and I have to say it's probably one of the most important ones I have heard. As much as I hate to admit I had written off the bumper music as hopeless. Holding on for the first minute was hard but bearable. And then, what'd ya know? I hear what sounds like Al Green reverberating from the iPad and I'm in disbelief. Once the shock wore off I realized there is reason to be hopeful after all. 

So, apologies. Sorry I doubted you. I promise to always maintain a certain amount of optimism about the music selection.

It's so funny that you guys talked about Jonah's laugh because I was telling my friend about this upcoming podcast and I was telling her that Jonah has an unforgettable laugh. Love it! Keep up the good work!

I think both deals are fine, as you and Troy present them. Of course, the problem is that it's questionable how legitimate those cuts are. Under these hypothetical conditions it seems we're implying that there are some major cuts in entitlement spending that have been made, particularly medicare, medicaid, and social security.

Great post Jen. I'm glad I finally got you on here. You've been holding out on us all this time.

Maybe Charles Schwab and Arthur Brooks can cheer us up and show us how to get those rates moving in the other direction.

He might have been trying to say that eating Bleu Dog is good for your heart. 

Now there's a fourth function: standard of deferred payment. That's where the credit card comes into play. It facilitates exchange over time and not just at one fixed point in time. 

That's a question that comes up in classes on money and banking and monetary and fiscal policy. There's a trade-off that we make. Yes, you can eliminate a lot of risk that way but you'll also eliminate access to credit for a lot of people. It'll make the credit crunch we've seen recently look like a hiccup. 

I know for a fact that Tom has a photo on his phone so it's only a matter of time. 

We had a great time indeed. The setting was amazing! We were outside on a sunny day with no clouds and it was 80 degrees. You look over at the river and watch people floating by on pontoon boats and mini-yachts. And those waitresses,...uh hum. 

Until the next meetup...

Don't worry Peter, you're second-to-last. 

Can't wait! I might be a few minutes late but I'm looking forward to being there.