‘The Insightful Investor’ Radio Show–coming soon!

MoonHowler

Prince William County is full of talent.  We have filmmakers and now an investment radio show will be broadcast from Prince William County.   Many here know Prince William resident Bob Pugh.  Bob is known around the blogs, he has served on various county committees and has even been known to give ’em hell at Citizens’ Time at the BOCS.

Bob will be the host of ‘The Insightful Investor’ on The VoiceAmerica  Business Talk Radio Network.   The first show premiers this Monday at 10 am.  Jim Bacon will be his guest in October to discuss his book  “Boomergeddon.”

Here’s some information about Bob:

Bob Pugh, CFA, CFP®

Bob Pugh, CFA, CFP® has been helping people achieve investing and financial success as an educator and advisor for over twenty years. Bob founded Insight Wealth Management, Inc. to offer fee-based, independent investment and financial planning without the conflicts of interest inherent in firms that sell financial products. He has worked as a financial analyst in government and the private sector, an economic analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency, and a U.S. Foreign Service Officer.
Bob has taught portfolio management, investment analysis and economics for over two decades, most recently for The Johns Hopkins University’s Carey School of Business. He served two terms as President of the CFA Society of Washington, DC and is the CFA Institute’s Eastern Region Presidents Council Representative.

In 1997, Bob earned the CFA designation and later the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification. He has graduate degrees in global political economy from The Johns Hopkins University, SAIS, and in financial economics from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is a member of the CFA Institute, Financial Planning Association, National Association for Business Economics and MENSA.
Bob has volunteered since 1998 for the Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Personal Finance Program providing free education for the public. He speaks frequently on investing and financial planning for numerous groups including the American Association of Individual Investors.

We have discussed investment, finances and the economy often on this blog. It will be fun having our own local star from right here in Prince William County. We wish Bob all the best and if I can figure out how to tune in, will be doing so!

Harvest Moon on Steroids

MoonHowler

Harvest_moon2
Tonight the normally bright harvest moon goes on steroids. Not only is tonight full moon but it also is the autumnal equinox. According to the Washington Post:

Get ready for a night show. It’s tough to come to grips with the end of summer. Luckily, autumn will enter with a bang this year.

Not only will Northern America witness the beginning of autumn at 11:09 Eastern tonight, there will be a full moon in the sky. Put those two occurrences together and you’ll get the rare “super harvest moon.”

“The two sources of light will mix together to create a kind of 360-degree, summer-autumn twilight glow,” NASA Science writes.

When farmers relied on moonlight to extend harvesting hours, they started calling the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox the harvest moon. If the full moon fell on the first actual day of autumn, it became “super harvest,” or the “harvestest.”

The event has not occurred for 20 years, and probably will not reoccur until 2029.

As an added bonus, Jupiter will appear very close to the moon tonight. NASA’s Tony Phillips writes: “A Super Harvest Moon, a rare twilight glow, a midnight conjunction–rarely does autumn begin with such celestial fanfare.”

Celestial events are always fun. They are more fun when there is a little folk lore to go along with them. We celebrate with our new phases of the moon tracker right under the moonhowlings icon. Thanks Alanna for planting the moon phases for us.

Many, many myths and old wives’s tales are associated with full moon. Science tells us that the tides are affected by the moon, but is that all? Lunar Lore tells us the following:

The Moon and Birth
Female reproductive cycles respond to the lunar cycle.
Medical staff report that women who have already had children are significantly more likely to give birth on the day of the full moon.

Health around the Full Moon
A research team8 at Leeds university found a significant increase in visits to medical practices for consultations after the full moon.
Doctors report an increase in epileptic seizures and bleeding ulcers at the time of the full moon.

I am one of those weird people who is affected by the full moon. I have 2 biological children. In both of their cases, I went into labor on the full moon. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

The Moon and Accidents
Alcohol consumption rises at the start and end of the lunar cycle. More drunk drivers, more crashes and more hangovers occur at this critical time. It’s hard to know if the astrological connection between the Moon and liquids or the Moon and emotions is the root cause.
At the time of the full moon, hospital accident and emergency units see about 10% more patients13. 80% of casualty nurses and 64% of doctors believe the moon adversely affects patient behavior.
Crimes of violence increase at the full moon.

 

Many religions center around the lunar calendar. Jjudiasm is one such religion. Easter is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Check it out.

So Carpe Nox. Enjoy the light and the night. Happy Howling! This thread is dedicated to Elena who told me Moonhowler hadn’t done enough to celebrate the Super Harvest Moon and to our friend, Charlotte.

Harvest moon
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“Republicans Under A Spell” ????????

Elena

Richard Cohen wrote this fabulous op ed piece.   I just had to share it on the blog. 

Christine O’Donnell, the Tea Party candidate from lil’ ol’ Delaware, confesses to have once “dabbled into witchcraft” — a fittingly ungrammatical revelation that not only was to be expected but explains what has happened to the Republican Party. Someone — possibly you know who — has cast a spell on it, and now it has a candidate whose main contribution to political thought or, indeed, the plight of the poor is to have railed against masturbation, which she likened to adultery. Only a spell can explain such thinking.

Only a spell also can explain how Newt Gingrich, possibly a presidential candidate, can attribute the politics of Barack Obama to “Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior.” Obama allegedly picked up this behavior from his father, whom he knew only fleetingly, which is to say almost not at all, and who has long been dead. This, as Gingrich and others under the spell can tell you, is proof of the demonic power that can come out of the grave, enter the White House (look, the gate-crashing Salahis did it) and pervade the very body and mind of the commander in chief. It’s enough to give you the willies.

Honestly, I WANT, no I NEED, the Republican Party to find its footing again. In order to find the best solutions, we need to have vigorous EDUCATED debate. We need to find our way back to that ying and yang that ultimately brings us to compromise or at least allows for informed disagreement.

This fatuous infatuation with the Constitution, particularly the 10th Amendment, is clearly the work of witches, wiccans and wackos. It has nothing to do with America’s real problems and, if taken too seriously, would cause an economic and political calamity. The Constitution is a wonderful document, quite miraculous actually, but only because it has been wisely adapted to changing times. To adhere to the very word of its every clause hardly is respectful to the Founding Fathers. They were revolutionaries who embraced change. That’s how we got here.

The analogy to the bible and constitution cannot be ignored. There are those who believe the bible is a guide, just as the Constitution was created as a guide, as a document to be interpreted throughout the evolution of society, so is the bible. I have NO interest in having my country governed by those who believe the bible is literal or that the constitution is some iconic piece of paper that holds every answer in the most simplistic format.

So, which one are you?

McCain Flip Flops on Immigrant Kids and Gays

MoonHowler

John McCain has flip-flopped more than a fish recently. Gone is the moderate Republican. McCain has probably learned his lesson after being challenged by far right contender Hayworth. McCain has now jumped on the Tea Party express and has voted against the Dream Act and the repeal of DADT. 2 years ago he supported both of these initiatives. Not only did McCain flip flop on DADT, he led the charge. What’s more defense than gays in the military?

The Dream Act would have been a boon to the military also. According to Salon.com:

For the fifth time in a decade, the Dream Act died in the Senate. It’s one of those rare policy ideas that would benefit both the military and the budget — and it’s one that Tea Party-type deficit-hawk/hawk-hawks should have rallied behind. It was even a boon for states’ rights. Yet, it became the latest victim of xenophobia and partisan politics.

The Dream Act (short for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) was designed to solve one of the most heart-wrenching injustices in our immigration system. Some 2.1 million undocumented immigrants were brought to the United States, through no fault of their own, as children. And despite having spent their entire lives here, their parents’ illegal status prevents them from obtaining legal residency. The Dream Act would give these children a chance to “earn” their green cards, allowing them to apply for temporary legal status; then, if they maintain “good moral character” (at a minimum, keep a clean criminal record), graduate from high school, and either complete two years of college or military service, they’d obtain permanent residence.

Right now, there are stories aplenty of children who discover the cruel fact that they are deportable when they apply for their driver’s license. Or of high school valedictorians who are snatched off planes and threatened with deportation because their parents never sorted out their paperwork.

Right now, these children, who are Americans in all ways except having papers, cannot serve in the military without legal residency paperwork. To reject the Dream Act is just foolish. We need good American residents. We need people who work hard and want to serve their country. Passing the Dream Act would be win/win.

McCain flip-flopped on this issue. First he was for it before he was against it. Shame on him. Do campaign promises not count if you don’t win?