Today's Newspaper Roundup

My typical morning routine places me at my desk at around 8:50 AM, with coffee, reading the morning newspaper.  I typically scan the stories from front to back, only pausing to read items of strong interest.  Today there were a few different items that caught my eye and I thought I'd briefly share them with you here.

The first was an Associated Press story with the headline, "Energy tsunami near, top ex-officials warn."

A bi-partisan group of 27 elder statesmen is sending an open letter to both presidential candidates and every member of congress saying that the country faces "a long-term energy crisis" that threatens the security and prosperity of future generations if swift action isn't taken.

The group includes Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell and six other former secretaries of state or defense, former senators of both parties, and a half dozen former senior White House advisors and other cabinet officers for both Republican and Democratic presidents.

"We must re-examine outdated and entrenched positions.  Foremost we must rise above partisan differences and be united in our efforts," they wrote.

I actually wanted to write an editorial in the paper (I serve on the editorial board) saying much the same thing, but it was voted down.  It seems I'm in good company with an opinion shared by men called "elder statesmen."

The second item was a great quote by Thomas Jefferson offered by letter-to-the-editor writer Ray James of Columbus.

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

Hopefully we are not in need of a new bloodletting to preserve our liberty.  But sometimes the actions of our increasingly tyrannical government make me wonder.

And finally, another Associated Press story with the headline, "Leaders running out of economic options."

The nation's leaders are running out of answers to America's economic crisis.

The Federal Reserve has no more practical room to push interest rates lower; there's only so much taxpayer money for shoring up housing, and if depositors lose confidence there's little officials can do to stop a run on banks.

Bernanke warned that the U.S. economy faces "numerous difficulties," that the outlook for inflaton is unclear and that "financial markets and institutions remain under considerable stress."

I think this story finally brings to light the reality that the government should stop trying to fix things and simply get out of the way of Main Street Americans who have historically been the ones to come up with free-market solutions to America's worst problems.

Interesting news day indeed.