Before Wall Street

At one time in the history of New York City, Wall Street was only that, a street with a wall on it. It kept intruders our and the cows in. But let go way back...

International trade, loans, monopolies. All the markings of a story in the Wall Street Journal. Except that the story begins in ancient Babylon.

As early as two thousand BC, the priests who oversaw the temples decided to branch out. They became the world's first bankers, accepting deposits, granting credit and allowing no competition. It was a monopoly the priests held for generations.

Banking was carried to the rest of the world, sometimes by the traveling priests, but often by invading armies, but when civilization tumbled into the dark ages, banking fell with it.

History took some time in repeating itself and when it did, again the priests were the first to re-establish a banking system. Ecclesiastical orders found it placed them at the center of political power.

Some 14-hundred years passed before private bankers became the dominant force in finance.

For many of these years, not just anyone could be a bank customer. There were no elaborate credit checks. No Dun and Bradstreet ratings of your worth. Anyone worthy of being a customer was known personally to the people who ran the bank. It was a tight knit, elite, circle. There was no standing in line for the teller. Transactions were by appointment, often conducted in secret with most medieval banks cutting their deals with royalty or with the most powerful land owners.

Controls were tight, circulation restricted and caution was the watchword, for only a select few could be trusted to handle what was becoming one of the great innovations of the time. Paper money.

Today we need prayer and priests.

Who Are We?

Oh no! Say it ain’t so! I read that Millennials are set to outnumber Baby Boomers.

Apparently 75-million millennials is the magical number that will be reached this year. Millennials are the youngsters coming of age who were born between 1981 and 1987.

The millennials will overtake the baby boomers, the souls born between 1946 and 1964.

What the heck do they call all those born between 1964 and 1981? Do they call them “Boomnials?”

What do they call my generation? Oh! I got it! OLD! That’s OK, I am in some respects, “old,” but that doesn’t make any of us in that category “useless.”

Does that make my parents, members of the “greatest generation” ancient? I doubt it, but it does beg the question.

In so many ways, I am tired of labels. We are all human beings no matter what our ages. We all love, we cry, we work, we die and if we are lucky we retire for a few years of wondering where did the time go.

I’d like my generation to be called, the “Grand Ones.” That works for me.

Testing the Waters

I don’t know why Presidential contenders say they are testing the waters or exploring a run for the high office. Either you throw your hat into the proverbial ring or you don’t.

I expect testing the waters lets a potential candidate see if he or she can raise enough money to make the run viable. Unfortunately the cost of running for President prohibits a number of qualified candidates.

I still think we need federal financed Presidential elections and at the same time cut the PAC contributions, especially the silent ones. If you cut one B-1 bomber or slash 1% off of every piece of pork a congressman adds to any bill you could finance the election every four years.

Give every candidate who declares to run an equal amount of pre-determined money. But first, any candidate who thinks of running must get a certain number of valid signatures from each state in order to qualify for the federal funds. It should be a reasonable number, just enough to give legitimacy to the candidacy and high enough to keep the ego-politicians away.

I guess that would eliminate just about every member of congress. Maybe its time for a non-political President, if that's possible.

A Gambit of Thoughts

I love the rallies for anti-terrorism all over the world.

I love the trend where Muslims are standing up to the radical factions of their belief.

I abhor the lack of truth in conversation from all sectors of our global society.

I love the action of Pope Francis to say that insulting another’s belief is wrong.

I am disappointed in the unilateral choices of President Obama for I think he has given up. Maybe not! But so it seems.

I am disturbed that Speaker Boehner is using the death threat against him as a reason to authenticate more governmental control over our lives.

I think it’s stupid that Mitt Romney is considering running for President again and again and again. Maybe he should read Adlai Stevenson’s biography.

Jeb bush? Ditto. Do we really need a Presidential dynasty in this republic?

Hillary too.

I love the human right of “freedom of expression” and still say, “Je suis Charlie.”

Hats

I happened to spend some freezing, walking, cold time in New York City yesterday and I’m still trying to remember all of the men's chapeau’s I observed while walking several blocks to a subway station.

There was the Russian Ushanka, a Tam, a Stetson, ergodyne, knitted Beanies, and a Chook and Toque. I saw ski hats, Cossaks, Bomber hats, plain caps, scarfs, Stocking caps, South American Chullos, Astrakhan caps, and the Newsboy or flat cap.

I did not see any Fedoras, Homburgs or Bowlers.

Me? I didn’t wear a hat. I had my L.L. Bean coat and a hood to keep my neck and head warm.

Stay warm my friends.