My kind of tax break...

Up to a $3500 tax break for pet owners? A great idea, especially for those who take in "recession" dogs and cats, which I've previously blogged about here.

Two quick God links (for lack of a better label)...

1) Did the Prosperity Gospel help get us into this economic mess? (Quick answer from me: sure seems like it and its purveyors ought to be ashamed.)

2) P.J. O'Rourke on his cancer diagnosis and God's mysterious ways. It's a funny and moving essay--one that I should have linked to about a month ago.

"Foreclosure Alley"

Via Andrew Sullivan: check out this video. Unbelievable. Honestly, so disturbing. It's like the people who lived in these houses just vanished. I can't imagine leaving so many things behind. The bit about spray-painting lawns green is almost surreal. Someone needs to write a poem or short story about that...

The market, retiring academics, and the job market...

I haven't checked out the recently released MLA job list, but I hear from those who have checked that it looks pretty bad so far this year. The recent news about the economy probably won't make things any easier, as you can read about in this article. In a nutshell: professors who can still work might consider putting off retirement as long as they can--bad news for newly-minted PhDs who continue to wait for the long-anticipated (the promise is almost mythical, it seems) future rush of retiring baby-boomer academics.

Just today, I received my semi-annual report from TIAA-Cref, and it shows another net loss, but I don't worry too much about these things yet. I don't know...maybe I should. This morning at the copy machine, I talked with a colleague who is much closer to retirement age than I am. He was worried, he explained, about his money, also tied up in TIAA-Cref--and maybe with very good reason.

"You're very young, of course," he said to me. "By the time you retire, things might have recovered."

"Or there will be nothing left," I jokingly replied.

"Maybe," he said quite seriously. Yikes.

But at least I have a steady job now. After three years on the market, I can't be more grateful. By the way, we are hiring for two positions in our department at Shepherd, if you know anyone who is interested. (One position is in poetry and poetics, the other in 18th-century British literature.)

"The other victims of foreclosure"

A depressing story from CBS's early show--people turning their pets over to shelters after they lose their homes. I remember hearing Ben Stein talk about this a couple of months ago on Sunday Morning, except unlike this story's headline, he referred to the pets as the truly innocent victims of this whole mess (with the exception, I am sure, of the kids whose parents took out these mortgages they couldn't afford). Here's the video of that comment. I really love his ideas about tax breaks and federal aid for shelters and people who adopt shelter pets--that's something I can stomach a lot more than government (translation: taxpayer) bail-outs for irresponsibility.

Want to help? You can always donate to two of my favorite charities: the ASPCA or the Humane Society. In fact, here's another little plug: if you are stuck for an idea for a birthday gift (or any gift) for an animal lover, consider making a donation in honor of that person at the ASPCA. You can also do it in memory of a loved one (human or animal). It's a lovely gesture that I've made a few times for friends and family, and they always appreciate it, certainly more than any old something you can find at a store and throw in the mail.