I was reading something yesterday about happiness, and it said they found that people got more long-term happiness from spending money on doing things or going places, rather than buying things. I agree! But there’s some interactive overlap there — namely, buying things you do things with.
For instance, my guitars make me happy because I like to play them. My books make me happy when I read them, and music makes me happy when I get to listen. Oh, and the art hanging on my walls still makes me very happy when I look at it. And it makes me happy to have a reliable car, because I’ve spent so many years without one.
Oh, and the computer. Well, tools of the trade and all that. But I go for cheap and practical, rather than trendy and cool.
But the other stuff? I could live without it. I’m not one of those people who thinks my life would be perfect if only I could get a new dining room set. (Although, you know, dishes.)
But generally speaking, I don’t care much about owning things unless you can do stuff with them.
Andy Stern, in a matter of months, has traveled as far as is possible from the labor movement, now toiling for a corporate raider who stands for everything labor fights against, HuffPost Hill reported today. He sits on the board or SIGA Technologies, a biowarfare company largely owned by corporate raider Ron Perelman, and was on the happy end of 25,000 stock options in June. If the HHS approves a huge contract SIGA is applying for, those options will be worth an awful lot of money. (They already are, by HuffPost Hill’s standards. But if SIGA gets the contract, they’ll be worth real money.)
But it gets worse! While Stern was head of SEIU, the union surprised the labor/capital world by endorsing the buyout of a Perelman company by the Blackstone Group. The cofounder of Blackstone is Pete Peterson, the guy waging a deficit jihad. Stern now sits on the deficit commission as one of the progressive voices. Ugh.
NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA – October 7, 2010 (WPVI) — A teen is dead after police used a Taser on him in Northeast Philadelphia.
Police responded to the 6900 block Souder Street at around 12:30 p.m. Thursday for reports of a disturbance involving an 18-year-old who relatives say is mentally challenged.
“He’s severely retarded. He was having a tantrum and my grandmother couldn’t handle him, so she called the police,” the teen’s cousin Michelle Rynkiewicz said.
Rynkiewicz says the teen, identified by relatives as Patrick Johnson, would not let go of a stick he was holding.
Police say the teen lunged at them and officers then used a Taser on him.
Johnson was transported to Nazareth Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1:10 p.m.
“I think Tasing him was excessive, I think it was uncalled for; I think, maybe, they should have used mace or tried to tackle him onto the ground,” Rynkiewicz said.
Rynkiewicz says Johnson had the mind of a 7 or 5-year-old.
Police say they have been at the location a number of times before because of similar disturbances with the 18-year-old.
