It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Not only is it a gorgeous day here, but it's our third in a row. I hiked up to Ludlow Creek Falls and snapped this pic late this morning, because tomorrow, when the clouds come in, it'll be too late.

In the Nuze

#Bobby Gates intends on getting rid of many of the Cold-War weapons programs that are costing us billions uselessly spent every year. Good for him and good for Obama. Should reduce the overall war machine budget by about 15 percent, which is about right for a down-payment. Now, if they'd get us out of those stupid Mideast wars and maybe substitute a serious effort to catch bin Laden, to keep the proles entertained if nothing else, we might get somewhere.

#Peter Boockvar, writing at Barry Ritholtz's economics blog "The Big Picture," explains why inflation is inevitably coming our way, and it's not at all hard to understand, if you're intimidated by economics. And in case you're wondering why Obama and Geithner don't get out in front of this problem, Boockvar also explains that "that's their main goal." What he doesn't explain is why they should wish such a thing for us, and that, too, is easy to understand: debtors (read "the banks") benefit from inflation; it's the savers who are hurt by it, along with working people who are barely making it, the unemployed, and various others who don't matter.

Enough news. It's starting to cool off here, even as I write this. Life will soon be back to what passes for normal.