by Walter Gray—

The CEO of J. Crew Speaks:

“Well, what we are feeling is that consumers are shopping more. They are comparing more. I think they are buying more shrewdly. They are shopping more carefully. They are looking for great value” said Mickey Drexler, CEO of J. Crew, as quoted in Bloomberg Businessweeek magazine.

Cash is King

Also from Bloomberg Businessweek, “U.S. bills and coins in circulation have surpassed $1 trillion, up from $200 billion in 1986, says the Federal Reserve. Households are paying more often with cash and keeping more cash on hand. Low interest rates are rising overdraft fees may account for the shift.”

The Deaf Ear Syndrome

Our Rhode Island Catholic Diocese, suffering a nearly 50 percent decline in church attendance, continues its “Return Home” campaign, urging non-attendees to come back to that which they have abandoned. The Bishop probably continues to believe Sunday morning baseball and soccer distract parents from their church obligations – failing to appreciate how much parishioners are offended by the barrage of scortching news the Diocese has chosen to ignore. No mention is ever made in the parishes about sexual abuse by priests, allowing priests to marry, allowing women to become priests, or acknowledging homosexuals to name a few. Individual parish priests claim they are limited to reading the gospel and then devoting ten minutes to interpretation of that gospel. No priests have publicly challenged that rule. Asked whether Catholic seminaries provide guidance to future priests about handing these controversial topics, a former priest said such “social” issues are never introduced during a priest’s education experience.

WSJ Editorial Excoriates RI Lawyer

In a scathing April 16 editorial, The Wall Street Journal said Jack McConnell’s changing stories about what he did and didn’t do about the lead paint controversy in the late 1990s is enough to disqualify him from appointment to the federal bench, a drive greased by Senators Whitehouse and Reed – recipients of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the nominee. And, the WSJ adds, there’s no rush since our two senators didn’t mind leaving the vacancy open when they helped to block President Bush’s nominee, Lincoln Almond, for two years. Mr. Almond was never confirmed, the editorial observed.

Many Future Jobs, Few Qualified

When experts look down the road at the fastest-growing occupations, what they see is thousands of jobs on the horizon by 2018 and a worker pool that may not be trained to fill them. The Top Ten list includes, in order, biomedical engineer, network systems and data communications analyst, home health aide, personal and home care aide, financial examiner, medical scientist, physician assistant, skin care specialist, biochemist and biophysicist, and athletic trainer.

So What Ever Happened?

The three components of modern political power, according to author Francis Fukuyama, are (1) a strong and capable state; (2) the state’s subordination to the rule of law, and (3) government accountability to all citizens, according to a book reviewer in The New York Sunday Times.

Computers Search Video Games for Filth, Etc.

The little T’s, E’s and M’s that appear on the covers of video games get there the old-fashioned way: people working for the Entertainment Software Rating Book look at the games, decide how gory, sexy or potty-mouthed they are, and bestow an age-appropriate rating accordingly. Starting April 18, computers will make those decisions, according to a story in The New York Times. Evaluation will henceforth not be based on human judgment but instead on a detailed digital questionnaire meant to gauge every subtle nuance of violence, sexuality, profanity, drug use, gambling and bodily function that could possibly offend anyone The questionnaire, to be filled out by a game’s makers (with penalties for non-disclosure) is like a psychological inquest into the depths of all the things our culture considers potentially unwholesome.

Maybe Closing Hospitals is Next

It’s interesting to see that federal and state governments are imposing significant budget reductions on K-12 and higher education. Talk about assassinating the future. You have to wonder how legislators would respond if you asked them how they arrived at such priorities. Fund those pensions, tax the middle class, maintain the multi-million Board of Governors for Higher Education. If nothing else, let the downward spiral continue.

U.S. Jobs Moving to Asia

Globalization started twenty, maybe thirty years ago. Free trading, new compacts. Hell, we’re all God’s people and globalization will guarantee jobs for everyone, peace, more understanding. More wars and threats of war. Sure enough. Who predicted that? China winning the economic sphere with the US a big loser.

And now, reports The Wall Street Journal, our own multi-national corporations, the big brand-name companies that employ a fifth of all American workers have been hiring abroad while cutting back at home, sharpening the debate over globalization’s effect on the U.S. economy. The companies cut their work force in the U.S. by 2.9 million during the 2000s while increasing employment overseas by 2.4 million. The trend highlights the rising importance of other economies, particularly in rapidly-growing Asia to big U.S. businesses such as General Electric, Caterpillar Inc., Microsoft Inc. and Wal-Mart stores,

First on Google Response List? It’ll Cost You

Type the words “baby boy name 2011” into Google and one of the first ten results will be a website for Pampers disposable diapers. That’s the work of Tom Gerace, chief executive of Skyword, Inc., a Boston company that helps clients get the best possible placement in Google, Bing, and other online indexes.. In a Boston Globe article, it was noted that the practice, “Search Engine Optimization”, has become a powerful and controversial marketing tool in an Internet-centric world. Optimization companies get the attention of a search engine by adding relevant keywords to a page or by linking to other pages with more information on the same subject.

Living Longer With Exercise

“The majority of the mortality-related benefits from exercising are due to the first 30 minutes of exercise” exclaims a professor at a Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, LA, as reported in The New York Times Magazine. Studies of exercise and mortality show that, in general, a sedentary person’s risk of dying prematurely from any cause plummeted by nearly 20 percent if he or she began brisk walking (or the equivalent) for five times a week. If she or he tripled that amount, for instance, to 90 minutes of exercise four or five times a week, his or her risk of premature death dropped by only another 4 percent. A professor at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota avers “I personally think that brisk walking is far and away the single best exercise.”

Sale! The Whole Mall

Mall landlords are currently marketing 40 malls across the country, an unusually large number for any one time. The sellers are hoping to take advantage of the slowly improving economy and commercial real estate market. Most of these malls are lower quality enterprises and their owners are seizing the moment as their properties face oversupply and competition from Internet sales, according to a Wall Street Journal article.

When a Pug and a Beagle Fall in Love, It’s a Puggle

It’s a new dog, is what it is. And please don’t refer to the new breeds as mutts. Actually they are (if a blend of pekingese and beagle, a peagle. Or a goldendoodle if a mating of a golden retriever and a poodle. Or a cockalier if a match of a cavalier king charles spaniel and a cocker spaniel. The American Canine Hybrid Club has registered 671 different hybrid combinations since 1990. The hybrids are sold over a website for between $675 and $795. Most popular so far are the puggles (a pug and a beagle) for their size and family-friendly temperament, according to the story in The Wall Street Journal.

Obama a Favorite or Underdog Today?

Time magazine reporter Mark Halperin writes that Obama is The Favorite right now. Why? Halperin says political bookmakers see Obama as better than even money to retain the Presidency, thanks to his fundraising strength, political experience and skill – and the apparent weakness of the GOP field. But he will struggle to hold such swing states as Indiana, North Carolina, Virginia and Colorado, opening up the Electoral College bowl. A Republican who can compete in Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin and Iowa will have a real chance to beat him, the writer claims.

Too Many Museums?

Support for a National Latino Museum in Washington, DC is building but the financing hasn’t been arranged yet, reports The New York Times. Since museums are an offshoot of the Smithsonian Institution, critics are already complaining that the Smithsonian ought to improve itself before undertaking too many branches. And, says Congressman Jim Moran of Virginia,“I don’t want a situation where whites go to the original museum, African-Americans go to the African-American Museum, Indians go to the Indian Museum. That’s not America.”