Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

New Year's Day, time to take down the Christmas tree. When it's over, it's over, and it's time to move on. I put on disk two of the Bing Crosby collection It's Easy To Remember, a Christmas gift from my bride, while I worked. The first song on the record is the title of this post and it made me smile and shake my head. A pretty appropriate song to see out 2008, don't you think? The worst part is that the song may also sum up 2009 and beyond. Economically, things are bad out there and there's not much good on the horizon. I don't see anything changing until at least the second half of the year and probably not even then. I'm a bit afraid we may be entering the start of a long period, measured in years, of little or no growth, with static, moribund economic conditions. Obama's economic stimulus package will stimulate little, just as its model, FDR's New Deal, didn't. Aah, but I won't get into ideological battles, not today. Like I argued over a year ago, conservatism is dead in this country and those of us who still adhere to its tenets are in the political wilderness. And that's okay. Life is not all about politics (God forbid) nor is it all about money. Time to concentrate on other things. If I'm going to start blogging again my conversation will concentrate less on politics and economics, more on the arts - books, plays, movies, television - and life in general.

Happy New Year to you. My mom got me this Jo Stafford collection for Christmas this year and it is simply outstanding. What a voice. Ms. Stafford, who passed from the scene earlier this year, enjoyed a long, successful career, though apparently was not as popular with the critics as the public. But the public was right. Her voice was gorgeous, rich and resonant, and she sang the songs straight, with impeccable phrasing. Few are the female vocalists who could deliver a romantic ballad like her. There are about 100 songs in this collection; here is just one example of what you'll get if you purchase this record, the finest version of "Long Ago and Far Away" I've ever heard: