Marcy Wheeler (emptywheel) and Stuart Zechman should be interesting tonight on Virtually Speaking Sundays. Listen live now at 9:00 PM Eastern, or later you can stream or download the podcast at the link.
And maybe they will talk about our feral elite!
Signed,
Not Atrios
Sunday, July 31, 2011
SUPERCONGRESS
Some details aren't clear to me yet, but seems like they've hit on the perfect combination of stupid and evil for the debt ceiling "deal."
Sunday Bobbleheads
Face the Nation has McConnell and Schumer.
This Week has Plouffe and Lindsey Graham.
Meet the Press has Plouffe, McCaskill, some Republican House member you've never heard of, and Granholm.
Document the atrocities!
This Week has Plouffe and Lindsey Graham.
Meet the Press has Plouffe, McCaskill, some Republican House member you've never heard of, and Granholm.
Document the atrocities!
Now They Tell Us
As I keep saying, the other way to cure the deficit is, you know, awesome
But it's a lot more fun to look responsible by making other people suffer.
But there is, in theory, a happy solution to our debt troubles. It’s called economic growth. No need to raise taxes or cut programs. Just get the economy growing the way it used to.
But it's a lot more fun to look responsible by making other people suffer.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Going Forward
I have no crystal ball, but increasingly there are reasons to believe that we might not just have an 'economy not getting better fast enough' situation but instead an 'economy getting worse again' situation.
We could always cut spending I guess.
We could always cut spending I guess.
The Stupid
I'm honestly ready to get back to trying to figure out who the next Hitler of the Week is and which country we should invade next. At least it distracts the Villagers from cutting Social Security for a little while.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Friday Night
Gonna be busy for the next few days so blogging will be a bit irregular.
Talk amongst yourselves.
Talk amongst yourselves.
All I Can Do Is Repeat Myself
It's criminal that elites are not doing the obvious thing, borrowing money for cheap and spending it.
The Big Money
I actually have no idea why the $2 trillion coin option would lead to a downgrade of US debt. I mean, sure, the ratings agencies might do so for whatever random reasons because they're idiots, but there's no legitimate reason for them to do so. At this point in time, any way to print free money is a good thing. If the Fed won't do it, the Treasury should.
"Less Than Expected"
It is a theme these days.
So many problems could be solved by simply giving people other than banksters some free money.
Which is why, of course, we aren't doing it.
So many problems could be solved by simply giving people other than banksters some free money.
Which is why, of course, we aren't doing it.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Incoherent
I don't even know what the hell the teabaggers want. Oppose whatever Obama might not veto, and blow up the world seems to be the agenda.
Better Living Through The Suffering Of Others
This is all just part of the morality play which is going on in the heads of rich people. I don't know precisely who he imagines is going to experience pain, but generally the theory is once poor people suffer a bit more for the sins of rich people everything will be ok again.
Optimism
I think even the pessimists are too optimistic. There isn't actually any reason for the economy to magically get better in two or ten years. I'm not saying it won't, I'm just saying that with all policy levers working against it there's no reason to believe it's inevitable.
Easy
I get annoyed when people say that it's hard to spend money on government construction projects because it takes a lot of time. That's true for some projects. But it isn't true when the project is "digging up the street to replace 100-year-old pipes." I don't know the details of the water systems of all cities, but I imagine the water departments of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston would have no trouble spending money quickly and on very legitimate projects.
Riding
I don't have any major theories about why my local transit authority has experienced its greatest ridership levels since 1989 (and commuter rail use at record levels). It's probably mostly a bunch of small things working together. But I do think there has been a small cultural shift in that not owning a car doesn't make you a loser anymore.
MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
The bit about narcissists I don't understand is how they seem to get along with each other.
Ireland & the Vatican
The whole world is falling apart, but if you will, spare a moment to observe how angry Ireland is at the Vatican.
A lot of things that used to be true, ain't.
A lot of things that used to be true, ain't.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Praise Jeebus The Tire Swing Is Back
I admit it never even occurred to me that this could be excellent news for John McCain.
I forgot. It's always excellent news for John McCain.
I forgot. It's always excellent news for John McCain.
Making People Suffer For No Good Reason
Raising the Medicare eligibility age really is just going off to hurt people just because. The public cost savings, especially when accounting for the shift into either subsidized exchanges or Medicaid, would be minimal to nonexistent. It's really just horrible policy for every reason imaginable.
Smash
I think a significant portion of the population, and maybe most of us at least a little bit, are attracted to disasters. I forget who, but I think some comedian got in trouble around the time of Katrina for joking that he turns on the TV and roots for the hurricanes. It's not that I think most people really want the hurricane to kill lots of people. They are, in fact, horrified when the disaster actually happens. Still there's something about the idea of the disaster, if not the reality, that has a strange allure.
I'm betting it isn't just economic terrorism, it's also the thrill of the smash.
I'm betting it isn't just economic terrorism, it's also the thrill of the smash.
Team Whitey
Long ago decided that there really isn't anything Pat Buchanan could say which would get his MSNBC green room cot removed.
OH
Guy on cell phone outside:
*It was actually 11th st.
What the fuck? They removed lanes of traffic and put bike lanes on 10th St.* Where the fuck do they think we are? China? People fucking like to drive to work here.
*It was actually 11th st.
Bounce
One of the things that's become extremely clear is that this whole debt ceiling business is entirely artificial, as policy-dictating as the Humphrey-Hawkins Act. As this guy says, the Treasury is not gonna be bouncing any checks.
But the administration has embraced it, apparently as a mechanism to justify undoing the core elements of the New Deal.
(link via Dean Baker at Beat the Press.)
But the administration has embraced it, apparently as a mechanism to justify undoing the core elements of the New Deal.
(link via Dean Baker at Beat the Press.)
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
There's No Point To Any Of This
People are tweeeting things along the lines of harhar Boehner's plan only cuts pennies from the deficit over the next couple of years. First point...hurray for Boehner! We're in an awful recession. Maybe even he understands that. The second point is that this just highlights how stupid it is to aim for arbitrary numbers over a ten year window when a) the 'hard' decisions are always made for a few years down the road, with some magic asterisks and b) anything which is passed can be undone by the next thing that passes. This Congress cannot and will not tie the hands of the next one.
Yes I get that the fiscal path can perhaps be nudged a bit in one direction or another, and I get that big changes to things like Social Security or Medicare can be a bit more durable than other changes(which is why I'm screaming to leave them alone), but even with those programs pissed off old people might get their way next time.
Yes I get that the fiscal path can perhaps be nudged a bit in one direction or another, and I get that big changes to things like Social Security or Medicare can be a bit more durable than other changes(which is why I'm screaming to leave them alone), but even with those programs pissed off old people might get their way next time.
Also, Too, The Taliban Have A Point
Aside from the "sympathy with the devil who sympathizes with me," I'm amused (or horrified depending on the day) that conservatives are incapable of understanding that there are also left wingers who have political and societal concerns and their basic reasoning should apply equally to them. But, of course, they don't because liberal concerns are completely invalid.
The point is that if some liberal started shooting up catholic priests, or whoever, pissed off because of abortion laws, I doubt Chunky BoBo would write a "extremists only grow stronger when a political system pretends that problems don’t exist" column. It would, instead, simply be a lesson on the evils of liberals and liberalism and blahblahblah.
The point is that if some liberal started shooting up catholic priests, or whoever, pissed off because of abortion laws, I doubt Chunky BoBo would write a "extremists only grow stronger when a political system pretends that problems don’t exist" column. It would, instead, simply be a lesson on the evils of liberals and liberalism and blahblahblah.
Grifters Gonna Grift
I also enjoyed this series of tweets from Grifter Warren.
RickWarren Rick WarrenEvery church is flawed.Still,you'd better learn to love it, since its the only group Jesus said he's taking to heaven.RickWarren Rick WarrenThe Church is the only thing on earth that will last for eternity. God wanted a family, not merely saved individuals.See Eph 1:21»RickWarren Rick WarrenIf you want to know how much the CHURCH matters to Jesus, just look at the Cross. "Christ died for his church." Eph 5:25-27RickWarren Rick WarrenTelling Jesus "I love u but dont need your church" is like telling your wife "I love u but dont need your Body. Fake love.RickWarren Rick WarrenOnly in our culture of idolatrous individualism are believers think they can follow Jesus without belonging to a Body.RickWarren Rick Warren"The family of God is the Church of the living God. It is the SUPPORT & FOUNDATION of the truth" 1 Tim. 3:15RickWarren Rick WarrenYou simply CANNOT love Jesus without loving his Body, his Bride, & his Family who he died for. Period.Case closed. Gal6:10
How Rich White Assholes View The World
A quote from Martin Feldstein in the Financial Times:
Except for closing some loopholes and deductions that Martin Feldstein would probably support as part of a broader deal, the only tax increases he's supported would hit 2% of the population, and be trivial amount for most of those hit. But, yeah, that's what's wrong with the economy, not the fact that the other 98% don't have any goddamn money.
President Obama's relentless call for higher taxes discourages spending by businesses and households.
Except for closing some loopholes and deductions that Martin Feldstein would probably support as part of a broader deal, the only tax increases he's supported would hit 2% of the population, and be trivial amount for most of those hit. But, yeah, that's what's wrong with the economy, not the fact that the other 98% don't have any goddamn money.
Self-Correcting
All through this there's been a strong belief by elites that the economy would just correct itself, that we'd eventually just work our way through the business cycle, that a stimulus "insurance policy" would be enough to take the edge off until the free market fairies recovered from their bender and got back to work.
But we know it doesn't always work that way. We've known it for a long time.
But we know it doesn't always work that way. We've known it for a long time.
Shrinking Our Way To Prosperity
Others have pointed this out, but it is similar to the time leading up to the Iraq war, when dirty hippies would point out obviously stupid and false things only to be mocked by the Very Serious People who were busy applying duct tape to their houses.
But, no, austerity won't work there and it won't work here. Anyone actually concerned about the deficit would be concerned about jobs.
But, no, austerity won't work there and it won't work here. Anyone actually concerned about the deficit would be concerned about jobs.
Their Brains Are Flat
As Pareene says, the problem isn't that Tom Friedman exists, the problem is that supposedly smart people actually think he's ever worth listening to.
Liars
I imagine this is one of the Right's more effective fake facts. Everybody pays taxes. Even really poor people pay taxes. So when poor people who pay taxes hear there are all of these people out there not paying taxes, they probably get pretty pissed.
So What's Next
So after we get all of this current unpleasantness behind us, the exciting agenda will be?
Monday, July 25, 2011
Cutting Spending
Yes, as Kevin Drum says they care about cutting spending for "undeserving people" to some degree, but that's different than saying they care about cutting aggregate spending. There are some programs Republicans don't like that Dems (sorta) do which they'd happily cut, but there's a pretty good chance they'd just turn around and throw it all at the DoD or on farm subsidies or whatever.
They point is they don't really have any ideological commitment to "small government" as measured by the amount of money the government spends. They want the spoils to go to their team, and they don't want rich people to have to pay for any of it.
They point is they don't really have any ideological commitment to "small government" as measured by the amount of money the government spends. They want the spoils to go to their team, and they don't want rich people to have to pay for any of it.
They Don't Really Want To Cut Spending
I think the largely unacknowledged bit of all of this nonsense is that most Republicans in Congress don't really want to cut spending, or more specifically they don't want to own cutting spending. Their main concern is tax cuts for rich people, spending is secondary, and the deficit matters not at all to them. Sure they want to be seen as wanting to cut spending, in the abstract, because that's their brand, but they don't actually want to be responsible for the spending cuts. Their position is: give us the cuts and don't make us vote for them. Their problem is that while the crazy teabaggers in Congress would generally be happy to vote for all kinds of spending cuts,they won't vote for them if they're attached to the debt ceiling. So that means Republicans more concerned with elections will have to vote for them, along with some Democrats.
One True Christian
I have no idea this guy was "Christian" in the sense of being a deep believer in something resembling contemporary Christianity and a regular churchgoer, or if he's just "Christian" in a basic tribal sense like many people. Regardless, from what I've seen he's motivated by basic ethnic/racial tribalism combined with a belief in a Great Conflict and not by the belief that Jesus told him to do it.
Still I do love the right winger "if he did something I don't approve of he isn't really Christian" reasoning.
Still I do love the right winger "if he did something I don't approve of he isn't really Christian" reasoning.
Where We Are
I love the widespread belief (true or not) that if the stock market drops a few hundreds points or so then Congress will be forced to act instantly.
The Idea of Growing Old
I cheer for gay marriage as a total sucker for romance. Real Life is not a Good Story, but hey, falling in love is one of life's adventures, and as long as our society is going to end romance stories with marriage, well... true love, baby! Shoot for it.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
#FU DC
Twitter has moderated the hashtag so it doesn't appear in the trending list, but the twitter is filled with people tweeting #fuckyouwashington. Jeff Jarvis started the hashtag and it's exploding.
The twitter also tells me that Pelosi and Reid are now at the White House, saving America's future.
The twitter also tells me that Pelosi and Reid are now at the White House, saving America's future.
Pesky Voters
You'll have to find it yourself, but little Tommy Friedman has penned another tribute to "the radical center," those group of people who are neither radical nor of the center and who are the most overrepresented people in Washington. Still what they need isn't simply power, but love, the undying and undeniable love of voters which escapes them every couple of years. Tommy knows that the plush offices of a hedge fund money backed reincarnation of Unity '08, called Americans Elect, will finally stir the voters to endorse, with grass roots input of course*, Everything Tommy Friedman Truly Believes. And, well, after that we might as well just stop with the whole voting thing. The people will have spoken, and the Plutocrat Party will begin their thousand year reign.
*What every pretends to not know is that any online political site that truly lets the internet dictate its agenda will end with a NORML-Ron Paul joint ticket. Not that it would necessarily be so bad at this point.
*What every pretends to not know is that any online political site that truly lets the internet dictate its agenda will end with a NORML-Ron Paul joint ticket. Not that it would necessarily be so bad at this point.
Stupid Policy And Stupid Politics
The geniuses in charge think abstract concepts like the 'deficit' are more important than jobs or the actual impact of those cuts.
I don't know why.
I don't know why.
Sunday Bobbleheads
Meet the Press has Bill Daley, Coburn, some House Republican you've never heard of, and Corey Booker.
This Week has Timmeh.
Face the Nation has Daley, Kyl, Warner, Durbin, and Chambliss.
Document the atrocities!
This Week has Timmeh.
Face the Nation has Daley, Kyl, Warner, Durbin, and Chambliss.
Document the atrocities!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Exchanges
Krugman
Watched the Obama presser this morning. Really struck by his commitment to find common ground among the various organizations profiting from the dysfunctional US health care system.
The underpants gnomes are laughing.
Most of us were willing, however, to accept the Rube Goldberg scheme actually passed — in which community rating, a mandate, and subsidies are combined to more or less simulate the effects of single-payer — as much better than nothing. If political reality dictated that health care be directed through private insurance companies, even though this made no sense in policy terms, well, that was a price we were willing to pay.
But it’s quite something else to take people who are currently being covered by a rational single-payer system, and force them back into the inefficient, parasitic world of private insurance. That’s terrible. And it’s also politically stupid: if you think for a minute that Republicans wouldn’t turn right around and run ads about how Obama is taking away your Medicare, you’ve been living under a rock.
Oh, and of course, Republicans were also trying to undermine health reform; so seniors would find themselves thrown off Medicare but, in many cases, unable to get private insurance either.
Great work, White House.
Watched the Obama presser this morning. Really struck by his commitment to find common ground among the various organizations profiting from the dysfunctional US health care system.
The underpants gnomes are laughing.
Horrible
I wasn't paying too much attention yesterday due to the somewhat unreliable nature of news reports during breaking news events (not really criticism, just observation), but just awful.
OSLO — The Norwegian police on Saturday charged a 32-year-old man, whom they identified as a Christian fundamentalist with right-wing connections, over the bombing of a government center here and a shooting attack on a nearby island that together left at least 91 people dead.
Bums
Looking forward to 2012, with Romney in the White House, and the House and Senate with Democratic majorities. (Being a Republican Senate incumbent in 2012 doesn't look like much fun at the moment.)
Poblano.
Voters have been throwing them out since 2006. It's really all they can do. Hasn't worked yet.
Poblano.
Voters have been throwing them out since 2006. It's really all they can do. Hasn't worked yet.
Something New
Hooray for Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd!
... the first same-sex couple to wed in New York State. The grandmothers of 12 will tie the knot before a crowd of thousands, in front of the specially rainbow lit Niagara Falls.
Friday, July 22, 2011
They Hate Us For Our Peace Seeking Ways
Lord Saletan on the twitter machine.
(ht dave weigel)
Oslo Peace Process. Nobel Peace Prize. Today's attacks show how little terrorists respect countries that pursue peace.
(ht dave weigel)
There Is No Crisis
Just a reminder that there is no debt ceiling crisis. There's a fake crisis started by Republicans and then embraced by the White House so that everyone gets to use the fake crisis to try to do unpopular things in such a way that nobody, in theory, actually gets the blame.
A few people need to show up in Congress in the middle of the night, cast a voice vote, and we can move on to the next fake crisis.
A few people need to show up in Congress in the middle of the night, cast a voice vote, and we can move on to the next fake crisis.
How Are Weak US States Supposed To Experience Growth?
You could tell a pretty similar story about us. Our central bankers are setting policies that wealthy elites want. Michigan doesn't have any money improve its infrastructure or spend more on education. We have even greater labor mobility than Europe, at least in theory, so there will be outflows from high unemployment places to low unemployment places. This might make the unemployment numbers better in those states, but won't do much for state finances. With cutting all the rage in DC, odds are some of our much vaunted automatic stabilizers, such as federal Medicaid dollars, are going to shrink.
There's no plan for growth here either.
There's no plan for growth here either.
Running Water, Too
Had some movers bring a few things from the suburbs this morning. Nice guys. One commented something along the lines of "your house is nice, you don't expect a place like this in the city."
Bookstores
I'm another who never understood most of the hate directed at Borders. I never lived in a world where there were dozens of awesome independent bookstores. I lived in a world where there were a few crappy independent bookstores, but mostly there were really crappy chain mall bookstores. Borders, and to a lesser extent Barnes and Noble, replaced crappy chain bookstores with pretty damn good chain bookstores.
Insanity
I know nobody listens to me, but unemployment is at 9.2%. It wasn't that long ago that the mere projection of future 9.0% unemployment prompted the passage of a major stimulus package.
And now...nothing.
And now...nothing.
Historic
One can't know for sure what is theater and what is speculation and what is just bullshit, but this really is frightening.
I have not seen any proposal which would any way be "historic." Some would be horrible, some less horrible. All could be changed by a vote of the next Congress, or by the next vote of this Congress. No plans for 5 years from now can be expected to stick that long. Voters don't give a shit about the deficit.
The White House, by contrast, is pushing hard for a compromise. And Democrats are worried that in his zeal to accomplish something historic, Obama will agree to a debt plan that omits, or complicates, a key Democratic demand: new, concrete sources of tax revenue.
I have not seen any proposal which would any way be "historic." Some would be horrible, some less horrible. All could be changed by a vote of the next Congress, or by the next vote of this Congress. No plans for 5 years from now can be expected to stick that long. Voters don't give a shit about the deficit.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Maastricht
Too late to have deep thoughts, but, yes, Maastricht made some sense at the time of European integration, at a time when there was more generous re-distribution of funds across euro-land as part of the grand plan (whether good or bad) to bring everyone together, but in the middle of a major economic downturn...
Problem Should Have An Easy Solution
Not quite sure I get what's going on here.
The city used to be better about hauling away large items. They'd basically take anything if you called them and put it out. They've limited that somewhat now, but they'll still take things like sofas if they're by the curb.
ALLEY SPAT: Neighbors on Daggett Street near Dicks Avenue are confronted with a pile of discarded couches on the street and a festering pile of garbage in an alley behind their homes.
A whopping 21 calls to the city's 3-1-1 help line have left Bullock essentially in the same place she was in nine months ago, when the trash heap appeared behind the house at 2625 Daggett - adjacent to Bullock's.
Bullock said the 3-1-1 representative she spoke with about the trash was rude, and basically told her to mind her own business.
"She said, 'If it's not on your property, you shouldn't worry about it,' " Bullock said.
Right. The mice and roaches that Jones and Bullock have seen scurrying around the trash heap are enough to worry anyone.
Adding insult to injury, a few dirty, discarded couches popped up on a small yard at 2635 Daggett four months ago, they said.
The city used to be better about hauling away large items. They'd basically take anything if you called them and put it out. They've limited that somewhat now, but they'll still take things like sofas if they're by the curb.
Gentrification Leading To More Demand
I don't think it's quite this simple.
I think it is the case that more people moving into neighborhoods, especially relatively blighted ones, can lead to further price increases. The mechanism is fairly simple. More people equals more demand for local goods and services, which means greater variety of availability of local goods and services, which makes a neighborhood even more attractive, further boosting demand for housing units in that neighborhood.
As for the initial trigger of more people moving in, that could be increases in housing prices elsewhere, a change in consumer preference for type of housing, a reduction in the local crime rate, etc. The point is that more people can lead to a better neighborhood which can lead to more demand and higher prices. It isn't necessarily incorrect to perceive new development as the cause of higher prices.
When I speak to people in the city (which in fact does happen, since I do live here, reporting aside), they often see the fact that new development occurs in the same places at times when housing costs are spiking. Consequently, they often reach the conclusion that new development is causing price increases and that the best way to moderate price increases is to moderate the pace of new development. These charts indicate, I think, that this is a mistake. That both new construction and higher prices are caused by higher demand for housing, and that DC is experiencing an above-average rate of housing cost increases because we’re experiencing a below-average rate of issuing permits for new construction.
I think it is the case that more people moving into neighborhoods, especially relatively blighted ones, can lead to further price increases. The mechanism is fairly simple. More people equals more demand for local goods and services, which means greater variety of availability of local goods and services, which makes a neighborhood even more attractive, further boosting demand for housing units in that neighborhood.
As for the initial trigger of more people moving in, that could be increases in housing prices elsewhere, a change in consumer preference for type of housing, a reduction in the local crime rate, etc. The point is that more people can lead to a better neighborhood which can lead to more demand and higher prices. It isn't necessarily incorrect to perceive new development as the cause of higher prices.
11-Dimensional End Game
There you go.
You know what we have without the deal? The possibility of future revenue increases.
A Congressional aide briefed on ongoing negotiations between House Speaker John Boehner and President Obama says the two principals may be nearing a "grand bargain" on to raise the debt limit which would contain large, set-in-stone spending cuts but only the possibility of future revenue increases.
"All cuts," the aide said. "Maybe revenues some time in the future."
You know what we have without the deal? The possibility of future revenue increases.
The Establishment
Just a reminder that before conservatives began their decades long strategy of working the refs and accusing everybody working in "the liberal media" of having "liberal bias," what people call mainstream media today was commonly referred to as "establishment media."
No Drama Obama
The rather obvious solution is a clean debt ceiling hike, but none of the people involved in this ridiculous mess seem to want that.
Using crisis as an excuse to ram through massive "bipartisan" changes without public input is horribly undemocratic.
Shame on all of them.
Using crisis as an excuse to ram through massive "bipartisan" changes without public input is horribly undemocratic.
Shame on all of them.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Burn This Mother Down
I admit I'm cheering on the suicide squad. The more Dem votes you need, the more it has to be Dem-friendly.
Hellhole In The Hellhole
Article provides an excuse to make the obvious observation that Grand Central is great and Penn Station, where the Amtrak machine drops me, is a hellish nightmare.
Also, Too, Democrats
I imagine if there are two basic narratives out there that people have about the political parties it's that Republicans want to cut your taxes and Democrats want to give money to poor and old people. The giving money to poor people part isn't super popular, but the giving money to old people one mostly is. Yes it should be a no brainer for a Florida member of Congress to support Medicare, and it should also be a no brainer for the Dems to block cuts to Social Security.
Maps Are Small, Actual Places Are Large
I have to assume some degree of expertise among military planners whose job it is to achieve some sort of goal (??) with freedom bombs, but I imagine most of our policymakers know about as much about strategic aerial warfare as I do, which is not much. I've started to think that flawed spatial perception underlies the apparent belief that a few well-placed freedom bombs will solve our latest Hitler of the week problem. Unless - and probably even if - it's just a really expensive means of assassination, the idea that some aerial bombing is really going to do whatever it is we were meant to do in Libya (does anybody know?) is really dumb. It's a big place. I suppose we could level a city if we really wanted to, but supposedly we don't, so...?
So Trite
I suppose this is an obvious point that dirty hippies make and then get laughed at, but I'd believe that all of our freedom bombs had some genuine humanitarian purpose if we actually ever spent serious money on actual humanitarian purposes.
Either Development
Probably there are some other possibilities.
Consequently, argues Frederick Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute, Maliki and his government face a fateful choice. “If Maliki allows the United States to leave Iraq,” Kagan wrote in a recent report, “he is effectively declaring his intent to fall in line with Tehran’s wishes, to subordinate Iraq’s foreign policy to the Persians, and possibly, to consolidate his own power as a sort of modern Persian satrap in Baghdad.”
Alternatively, Iraq could use its burgeoning oil revenue to rush to construct an army and air force capable of countering Tehran. But either development would be regarded as a strategic threat by Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Mysteries
The unknowable is whether they're really going to tank the economy and screw poor and old people.
We'll see!!
We'll see!!
Wah Wah Wah Wah Wah Wah
Could someone please run the gang of six wankers summary through the senate gibberish translation device?
"Choice Ridership"
I dream of the day when transit planners stop trying to cater to the elusive rich suburban white person rider and instead think about how to make transit better in places where people actually use it.
I'm all for more and better transit everywhere, but I'd really like a bit more focus on core users.
...ah, my apologies, I realize I interpreted this incorrectly. I think he means "choice" as in making a choice, not choice as in preferred. My basic point still stands, but I reacted wrongly to the language.
Greg Krykewycz, the DVRPC senior transportation planner who authored the study, explained that a well-branded service could attract “latent demand” from riders along the corridor who currently take cars.
Specific branding could help it escape the stigma that suburban bus routes are long and circuitous, he said, adding that “there's kind of an undetermined amount of untapped ridership” for the route and that “it's the choice ridership that you're trying to attract with service like this.”
I'm all for more and better transit everywhere, but I'd really like a bit more focus on core users.
...ah, my apologies, I realize I interpreted this incorrectly. I think he means "choice" as in making a choice, not choice as in preferred. My basic point still stands, but I reacted wrongly to the language.
I Actually Wouldn't Mind Some Enforcement
I'm not a big fan of pedestrians behaving badly, and while I think a $120 fine for just about anything a pedestrian might do is ludicrous, I wouldn't weep if there was a very modest fine ($20) that could be given for egregious jay-walking of the dangerous variety. I don't mean crossing an empty street type behavior, I mean running out in front of traffic against a light behavior.
Bachmania
It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. On the Dem side, elite Villagers always work hard to cull whoever they consider to be "crazy" candidates, though aside from Ron Paul I've never really seen the same activity for Republicans.
Leftover Electronics Are Free
I was donating some stuff to a thrift store the other day. They had lots of old TVs, and by old I mean "not flat screen," on sale for under $10. That poor people have access to some gadgets and gizmos that poor people didn't have access to 50 years ago doesn't change the fact that it sucks hard to be poor.
Unless you're a sociopath at the Heritage foundation.
Unless you're a sociopath at the Heritage foundation.
Thread
Nice catch from Bluegal, who found a bit of Fry & Laurie as Clarence the Angel and Rupert Murdoch in It's a Wonderful Life.
Signed,
Not Atrios
Signed,
Not Atrios
Jesus Tits Who Cares
Aside from "imminent death is likely" I really have never understood why people think random health issues matter.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Late Night
I pay attention to a lot of the various financial sites, and the degree to which our Galtian Hedge Fund Managers advocate for really fucking stupid policies - not just for me, but for them - tells me that they're really fucking stupid.
Doesn't Anybody Remember Anthrax?
Whole thing has been a crock.
Now, however, Justice Department lawyers have acknowledged in court papers that the sealed area in Ivins' lab — the so-called hot suite — didn't contain the equipment needed to turn liquid anthrax into the refined powder that floated through congressional buildings and post offices in the fall of 2001.
The government said it continued to believe that Ivins was "more likely than not" the killer. But the filing in a Florida court didn't explain where or how Ivins could have made the powder, saying only that his secure lab "did not have the specialized equipment . . . that would be required to prepare the dried spore preparations that were used in the letters."
Taking The People Out Of Politics
Leaving aside policy disagreements, and for sake of discussion assuming good intentions, I think the group being discussed are basically not fans of democracy. Voters and elections are problems, and the biggest problem for the Democratic party are actual Democrats. They'd prefer that government be run by some sort of committee headed by Robert Rubin. They dreamed of somehow ending politics, of just creating and implementing some sort of "consensus" (not of the people, but of the people who mattered) and then hitting the play button.
Is Erick Erickson Writing Their Material
My take on the WSJ defending MurdochLand was that it was just really stupid.
The Wage Is Too Damn Low
I don't think it's just a belief in the value of purging the system, I think it's a failure to understand what's going on in this economy. People don't have any jobs and they don't have any money. That's the fundamental fact that elites can't come to terms with. It's a bit similar to the way there was a tendency, early, to diagnose the financial crisis as a liquidity crisis instead of an insolvency one. All those foreclosures-in-waiting reduce liquidity in the housing market. Improve that and all will be well.
Except for the nobody has any money part.
Except for the nobody has any money part.
Chicken Becomes The Egg
I do think there were policy steps to "fix" the housing market which could have helped to spur an economic recovery. Those steps were not taken.
Or, to put it another way, there are two sets of problems with the housing market. One is that the economy sucks. Two is the bundle of issues related to the popped housing bubble (corrupt bankster practices, destruction of faith in our property title system, underwater borrowers). Fixing two to some degree might have been enough to have enough of a housing market rebound such that it would improve the economy. We didn't.
Or, to put it another way, there are two sets of problems with the housing market. One is that the economy sucks. Two is the bundle of issues related to the popped housing bubble (corrupt bankster practices, destruction of faith in our property title system, underwater borrowers). Fixing two to some degree might have been enough to have enough of a housing market rebound such that it would improve the economy. We didn't.
All Hail Latvia
Once countries implement policies that conservative assholes like, there isn't any need to go to the data anymore. They are Galtian paradises which we should emulate.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
It's Sunday, Sunday
And another week is about to begin. Don't suppose there's any chance we will shift to a Parliamentary system any time soon.
Bought
The whole country.
Metropolitan Police chief Sir Paul Stephenson has resigned.
Sir Paul announced his resignation at a press conference this evening in the wake of revelations that he received a £12k spa break where News of the World hacking suspect Neil Wallis was a PR consultant.
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner was already under pressure after it emerged that he hired Mr Wallis as a PR consultant for the force.
Oh My
Unexpected.
LONDON — The British police on Sunday arrested Rebekah Brooks, the former head of Rupert Murdoch’s media operations in Britain, according to a former associate at News International, the newspaper group at the heart of a phone-hacking scandal convulsing the Murdoch empire, the British political elite and the police.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Which Ones
I'm a liberal who thinks that sometimes businesses do face overly burdensome regulations, though generally at the local level, but whenever pundits bloviate about getting rid of regulations, I want to know...which ones? I mean, just which federal regulation is keeping the economy from achieving True Galt?
Afternoon Thread
The widening scandal may not bring down Murdoch's entire empire. I guess I could be satisfied if Murdoch et fil were left to live out their lives on Social Security and Medicare. Heh.
Religion and Politics
Diane at Cabdrollery succinctly explains why it's a bad mix.
What her [Bachman's] church and what she herself believes is actually none of my business, but it becomes my business when she and other candidates continually shove it in my face with smug superiority. It also becomes my business when candidates make it clear that those religious beliefs will become national policy.
What her [Bachman's] church and what she herself believes is actually none of my business, but it becomes my business when she and other candidates continually shove it in my face with smug superiority. It also becomes my business when candidates make it clear that those religious beliefs will become national policy.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Jobs Now, Deficits Later
Would have made a lot more sense,because the jobs will help cure the deficit, in part from higher tax revenues and in part from lower spending on various programs related to unemployment.
There's a very real (and IMHO climbing) chance that unemployment will still be above 8.5% a year from now.
oy. happy to be wrong.
There's a very real (and IMHO climbing) chance that unemployment will still be above 8.5% a year from now.
oy. happy to be wrong.
And They Don't Care About Spending
All Republicans care about is tax cuts for rich people. Cut deficits without implementing a more liberal agenda just means Republicans will cut taxes as soon as they get a chance.
Hopefully He's Smarter Than Me
Because I just don't believe there's any way to take the "deficit" off the table. I put "deficit" in quotes because nobody actually cares about them and we only talk about them when Democrats are president. The point is you don't win political fights for all eternity. I'll be quite happy if something that doesn't involve destroying the link between Dems and defense of Social Security/Medicare makes Obama feel like he can start selling a more liberal agenda, but really don't know why he or anyone else thinks you can get Republicans to stop screeching about spending etc.
Depressing
Ultimately outcomes matter more than theater, and we're not at the final outcome point yet, but the rhetoric Obama uses is truly depressing.
And How Did That Happen?
There's a complete mystery regarding just who is responsible for this particular state of affairs.
Yes, we'd better just clean it up and let the banksters own whatever they say they own.
Jamie Dimon said yesterday that "there have been so many flaws in mortgages that it’s been an unmitigated disaster" and the system is in serious need of an overhaul.
"We just really need to clean it up for the sake of everybody," he said on a conference call, acc cording to Bloomberg, "and everybody is going to sue everybody else, and it’s going to go on for a long time."
Yes, we'd better just clean it up and let the banksters own whatever they say they own.
Save The Banksters, Save The World
If instead of all that free money for banks, we'd given free money to people on the condition they give it to the banks (paying down debts), we could have gotten through this mess.
But bad poor people don't deserve money, only rich banksters who tried to destroy the world.
But bad poor people don't deserve money, only rich banksters who tried to destroy the world.
As I Asked
How many rental units are available in your neighborhood?
City Avenue differs from the typical highway strip in that it has many qualities we associate with urban places, including distinctive and relatively dense neighborhoods on both sides. There may be fewer pedestrians on the suburban edge of City Avenue - where multistory apartment houses are currently prohibited - but a culture of walking and commuting definitely exists. About 25,000 people work in the area between the expressway and East Wynnewood Road, and probably 40,000 more live within a 10-minute stroll.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Liberal Fascism
Was glancing through my copy of Liberal Fascism, which sadly no longer seems to be available, and was looking at the keyboard kommando episode where crazy liberals, represented by The Shining Jack Nicholson, and other nuts like Paul Krugman, say things like "torture is bad" while they're mocked as lunatics by the likes of Little Debbie and Dean Broder.
Now we get to say insane things like, "contractionary policy is not expansionary."
Now we get to say insane things like, "contractionary policy is not expansionary."
Internalized
Good news and bad news edition.
Fewer foreclosures not good news
LOS ANGELES - The number of homes taken back by lenders in the first half of this year fell 30 percent compared with the same 2010 period, the result of delays in foreclosure processing that threaten to stall a U.S. housing recovery.
How Many Rental Units Does Your Neighborhood Have?
These types of posts usually inspire a couple of "gentrification is evil" comments. I find concerns about gentrification to both be overblown and really weird among the liberal blog commentariat. But flipping the issue around for a second, there are a lot of reasons we associate cities with poor people in contemporary America, why to a great degree the poor have been concentrated in cities. One of which is the fact that they've been zoned out of the suburbs, with large lot zoning and severe limits on rental housing leaving few realistic housing options for lower income people outside of the city limits (it's a big country, not everything is precisely the same everywhere I know).
A big reason neighborhoods are "bad" in cities isn't simply because poor people live there and the social pathologies which tend to be attached to poverty therefore thrive, it's that they've experienced a significant amount of population decline. Housing stock deteriorates. Empty lots proliferate. Neighborhood businesses can no longer be supported by the resident population. Gentrification often isn't about rich people in, it's about people moving in period. And, yes, that can eventually start driving up rents and property values as the act of people moving in begins to improve a neighborhood. Existing owners may decide to cash out, and existing renters may be driven out. So, yes, there might be victims of gentrification in that sense. But if you're genuinely concerned about housing options for poor people you should be concerned about the fact that most places effectively don't let them live there, not that some students and hipsters begin reversing the depopulation trend that hit a lot of urban areas.
A big reason neighborhoods are "bad" in cities isn't simply because poor people live there and the social pathologies which tend to be attached to poverty therefore thrive, it's that they've experienced a significant amount of population decline. Housing stock deteriorates. Empty lots proliferate. Neighborhood businesses can no longer be supported by the resident population. Gentrification often isn't about rich people in, it's about people moving in period. And, yes, that can eventually start driving up rents and property values as the act of people moving in begins to improve a neighborhood. Existing owners may decide to cash out, and existing renters may be driven out. So, yes, there might be victims of gentrification in that sense. But if you're genuinely concerned about housing options for poor people you should be concerned about the fact that most places effectively don't let them live there, not that some students and hipsters begin reversing the depopulation trend that hit a lot of urban areas.
Thursday Is New Jobless Day
Forgot about that this morning. 405K new lucky duckies.
Still not good news.
Still not good news.
3 Block Infinity
Along with the "driving around in circles to get 2 spots closer to the supermarket" issue, I'm amazed at the degree to which people perceive that having to park 3 blocks away from their destination in the urban hellhole is some unimaginable burden.
Obviously there are people with mobility issues for whom it might be a giant burden, but I'm not talking about them...
Obviously there are people with mobility issues for whom it might be a giant burden, but I'm not talking about them...
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Bad Outcome
I'm not one who thinks our Galtian Overlords are necessarily especially bright, so I often wonder if their policy desires actually make any sense for them. Obviously the banksters have made out pretty well in all of this, but not because they have any idea how to run banks. They made out pretty well because they got the government and the Fed to give them lots of free money.
It's hard to quantify any of this, and there's a big mess in trying to think about the difference incentives facing investors and servicers, especially given that some are both, but wouldn't things be better even for the banksters if, say, bankruptcy cramdown had passed?
It's hard to quantify any of this, and there's a big mess in trying to think about the difference incentives facing investors and servicers, especially given that some are both, but wouldn't things be better even for the banksters if, say, bankruptcy cramdown had passed?
Sadly, No
WaPo:
This is dumb. Much of LA is very walkable. LA has a comprehensive bus system, a small subway system, three light rail lines, and several commuter rail lines. It wouldn't be my top choice city if I wanted to live somewhere without owning a car, but it's certainly one of the better cities in the country to live if you don't want to be car dependent. And, yes, LA is a big place so of course there are neighborhoods which are more and less car dependent, but there are plenty of places in the country where it is much much harder "to get from one point to another without a car."
In no other city in America is it so difficult to get from one point to another without a car. Three attempts at bicycle plans in Los Angeles have failed. The buses are poorly run and can take you several hours to get several miles. Not that Angelenos mind: A swanky car is prized more than a swanky apartment in L.A.
This is dumb. Much of LA is very walkable. LA has a comprehensive bus system, a small subway system, three light rail lines, and several commuter rail lines. It wouldn't be my top choice city if I wanted to live somewhere without owning a car, but it's certainly one of the better cities in the country to live if you don't want to be car dependent. And, yes, LA is a big place so of course there are neighborhoods which are more and less car dependent, but there are plenty of places in the country where it is much much harder "to get from one point to another without a car."
Carrots
I recognize that lots of people need cars, even in the urban hellhole, and plenty more people want cars, and given that reality I don't think it makes a lot of sense to have policies which are overly punitive for car owners. Still the fact remains that cars are really the enemy of cities, and that reducing the amount of cars - not just the amount of driving, but the amount of cars - is a desirable policy goal. My neighbors haven't yet sent me a thank you card, but their multiple car households should be glad that I'm not taking up one or two of the precious on street parking spots which they pay all of $35/year for. So, yes, rewarding people who don't have cars is a good idea.
(ht Tejanarusa)
(ht Tejanarusa)
Just Print The Damn Money
It actually isn't a point that is made often enough, as I think all right thinking people believe the world might collapse if we all really believe that central banks can just print up a bunch of money and hand it over to governments to pay their bills. And there isn't even any reason for a one-time giant helicopter to drop to be inflationary, even aside from the fact that we aren't likely to get inflation in the middle of a recession. Unless the money drops continued, the price level wouldn't continue to rise.
You Idiots Voted For A Supervillain
Most of the time I don't have "blame the stupid voters" view when elections don't go my way, but I make an exception for the voters of Florida.
Lee noted, "Corbett and Scott balanced budgets by relying on unpopular funding cuts to public education and other safety-net programs as a way to keep their campaign pledges and avoid raising taxes, so they are clearly paying the price politically for budgets that appear to have not spread the pain 'fairly.'
But the pollster acknowledged that Scott, with a 27 percent approval rate, faces a steeper climb back.
"The one difference between Scott and Corbett is that Scott has alienated more in his own party, since GOP voters give him only a 48-34 approval rating, while a solid majority of Pennsylvania Republicans still approve of Corbett," Lee reported.
MillerCoors
The big guys are affected too.
The state's government shutdown, now in its 13th day, will soon force MillerCoors to pull all of its beer from Minnesota liquor stores, bars and restaurants. A state official says the mass exodus of products like Coors Light, Miller Lite and Blue Moon will begin imminently.
Horrific Tragedies
Sobriety comes to Minnesota.
Hundreds of bars, restaurants and stores across Minnesota are running out of beer and alcohol and others may soon run out of cigarettes -- a subtle and largely unforeseen consequence of a state government shutdown.
In the days leading up to the shutdown, thousands of outlets scrambled to renew their state-issued liquor purchasing cards. Many of them did not make it.
I Blame The Internets
Not just, of course, but I do think an under-discussed element of increases in inter-city mass transit use such as Amtrak and inter-city buses is the internet and online booking. It's hard to remember those pre-historic days before the google, but finding out information about stuff like that used to be really really hard.
Wanker Of The Day
William Galston.
I'm sure there's worse wanking out there somewhere, but this just a perfect example of the wankerific "I, as someone who writes for TNR, can look down from my perch, declare that, as always, The Right and The Left Are Wrong, and some other Middle is correct." Without, of course, having a clue.
I'm sure there's worse wanking out there somewhere, but this just a perfect example of the wankerific "I, as someone who writes for TNR, can look down from my perch, declare that, as always, The Right and The Left Are Wrong, and some other Middle is correct." Without, of course, having a clue.
Satellite Five
Memory is a bit fuzzy, but IIRC acquiring BSkyB has been a Murdoch empire goal for a very long time.
Oh well.
Oh well.
Morning and Stuff
From various reports, it sounds like Rupert and his empire are in deep trouble.
Good.
Good.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
What's The Big Deal?
I don't think it matters if they force Obama to come up with spending cut proposals that won't go anywhere. He can just turn the whole thing into a farce, and do things like proposing to zero out the defense budget in year 10 or other things which obviously won't happen.
Good
Tying the debt ceiling to a grand bargain was always a dumb idea, and one the administration embraced or claim to have embraced. Governing by crisis is an undemocratic way for our overlords to try to avoid accountability. So all hail Mitch McConnell.
Don't They Have Parents?
I get that the supermen who rule us don't exactly rub elbows with the botched and the bungled very often, but are they really so oblivious that they don't understand that even if people are basically healthy their bodies start to break after a certain amount of time? Raising the retirement age to 67 for Social Security was a mistake. I don't think they were evil when they did it; people were a bit more optimistic about better and longer living through chemistry and other medicine than they are now. Raising the Medicare age to 67 wouldn't just be a mistake, it would be a mistake which probably wouldn't save government money except to the extent that it pushed people in to cheaper Medicaid.
Hopefully a few more people like Sherrod Brown get it.
Hopefully a few more people like Sherrod Brown get it.
Stuff Black People Like
Everything in this article might be completely true, but quite often we get these articles about how black people like or do something normally associated with white urban hipsters (bicycling) or white computer nerds (the twitter).
In my neighborhood most cyclists are (apparent) immigrants from Vietnam and Mexico.
In my neighborhood most cyclists are (apparent) immigrants from Vietnam and Mexico.
Opposite World
We should, of course, be doing the opposite of what all the Very Serious People think. More inflation would be good. More government borrowing to build supertrains would be good.
Fake Urbanism
I think a lot of these attempts* at fake urbanism fail internally, but even the ones which don't usually fail externally. I think the kind of "town center" developments that pop up, which include a bit of residential development and some degree of internal walkability, do provide a different-from-usual product that some people want, but too often these places have no external walkability. That is, the only desirable way in and out is by car.
*I'm thinking less of the ones mentioned in the article and more of the ones you see plunked down in various suburban locations.
*I'm thinking less of the ones mentioned in the article and more of the ones you see plunked down in various suburban locations.
Deals Will Be Broken
It's not that there's nothing that can be done to influence like future outcomes, but the fact remains that no amount of "responsible" actions by lawmakers today can prevent the lawmakers of tomorrow from cutting taxes. This, you know, happened not that long ago. It was cheered on by deficit obsessed Villagers who, like all deficit peacocks, don't actually care about the deficit but instead care about their top marginal tax rate and their future aspirational top marginal tax rate.
Put Down The Donut, Al Gore
NOW!
The pain has spread across 14 states, from Florida, where severe water restrictions are in place, to Arizona, where ranchers could be forced to sell off entire herds of cattle because they simply cannot feed them.
In Texas, where the drought is the worst, virtually no part of the state has been untouched. City dwellers and ranchers have been tormented by excessive heat and high winds. In the Southwest, wildfires are chewing through millions of acres.
Last month, the United States Department of Agriculture designated all 254 counties in Texas natural disaster areas, qualifying them for varying levels of federal relief. More than 30 percent of the state’s wheat fields might be lost, adding pressure to a crop in short supply globally.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Better Buses
I think rail will always have advantages over buses on highly trafficked routes, but it is the case that better bus systems can be built which achieve some of rail's benefits. Though the more you include rail-like features, the more the cost differential shrinks, especially if the cost of regular bus replacement is factored in.
Nothing Is Ever Off The Table
If that truly is the thinking, it isn't good. There is no deficit fix that will cause the Republicans to stop screeching about cutting taxes and there is no Social Security fix which will stop Fred Hiatt from trying to destroy it.
Austerity Forever
We can't read minds, so at some point we have to judge people by their words and actions. This press conference tells us that the austerity crap isn't some bit of political posturing, it's a belief.
We're doomed.
We're doomed.
Criminal Enterprise
Really quite stunning.
...more. Holy crap.
Gordon Brown will today break his silence over the phone-hacking scandal by accusing Rupert Murdoch's News International of illegally accessing his personal details, The Independent has learnt.
...more. Holy crap.
Maintaining The Official Village Myths
Apparently it's job 1.
Panetta made his remarks during his his inaugural visit to Iraq as Pentagon chief. Speaking to about 100 soldiers at Camp Victory, the largest U.S. military installation in Baghdad, he said his primary goal as defense secretary was to defeat al-Qaeda worldwide.
“The reason you guys are here is because on 9/11 the United States got attacked,” Panetta told the troops. “And 3,000 Americans — 3,000 not just Americans, 3,000 human beings, innocent human beings — got killed because of al-Qaeda. And we’ve been fighting as a result of that.”
Jobbity Job Jobby Job
So when we solve the deficit problem 4evah and unleash the confidence fairy, what will the excuse be then?
Because It Isn't Worth Anything
I think the reason the concept of money drives some people insane is a bit simpler. It's because it is just little pieces of paper. Yes it's legal tender and must be accepted for debt payment, but otherwise...it's just paper. People really have a hard time getting their heads around that.
You Think?
We're poised to start shrinking our way to recovery.
Though I'm not sure about the recovery part.
By the end of this year, however, many of those dollars are going to disappear, with the expiration of extended benefits intended to help people cope with the lingering effects of the recession. Moody’s Analytics estimates $37 billion will be drained from the nation’s pocketbooks this year.
In terms of economic impact, that is slightly less than the spending cuts Congress enacted to keep the government financed through September, averting a shutdown.
Unless hiring picks up sharply to compensate, economists fear that the lost income will further crimp consumer spending and act as a drag on a recovery that is still quite fragile. Among the other supports that are slipping away are federal aid to the states, the Federal Reserve’s program to pump money into the economy and the payroll tax cut, scheduled to expire at the end of the year.
“If we don’t get more job growth and gains in wages and salaries, then consumers just aren’t going to have the firepower to spend, and the economy is going to weaken,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, a macroeconomic consulting firm.
Though I'm not sure about the recovery part.
"Fair and Balanced" incorporated
Not surprisingly, accordingly to the suddenly respectable in comparison "Daily Mirror", Murdoch's empire has practiced phone-hacking in the most repellent possible way on this side of the Atlantic.
So Rupert and Glenn Beck viewed the 9/11 families the same way -- how lovely.
Also, thank goodness "Posh" did not explode.
So Rupert and Glenn Beck viewed the 9/11 families the same way -- how lovely.
Also, thank goodness "Posh" did not explode.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
No We Can't
It's been said a million times, but for the millionth+1 time, the problems we have are solvable. Our elites are evil and/or stupid, depending on your take...
It's Morning In America Again
Geithner:
This is still a very tough economy. For a lot of people, it's going to feel very hard — harder than anything they've experienced in a lifetime now — for some time to come.
We Can't Have Nice Things If They're Attached To Parking
Was reading a local forum and there were people complaining that a new residential/retail project didn't come with parking. This is in an existing retail corridor where none of the retail spaces have attached parking. I really have no idea why people move into an urban neighborhood and then start wishing the empty lots would be turned into strip malls.
They Don't Care About Deficits Or Spending
Yglesias:
This is because they only care about tax cuts for rich people. A few members might have some idiosyncratic spending concerns, such as "we're too generous to poor people," but basically they just care about tax rates on rich people. That's it.
A movement that actually believed that reducing federal spending was extremely important would, it seems to me, be quite willing to make concessions in order to obtain large quantities of spending cuts. Viewed in that light, it’s not obvious to me that backing away from a $4 trillion deal primarily composed of spending cuts constitutes a “more conservative” option than saying yes. You’re seeing that very little has changed in practice from the Bush years, when the GOP agenda consisted of aggressive tax cutting made palatable by refusing to pair the cuts with spending reductions. Now, ostensibly, cutting spending is the order of the day. But the bargaining strategy is entirely built around a tax-focused goal rather than a spending-focused one.
This is because they only care about tax cuts for rich people. A few members might have some idiosyncratic spending concerns, such as "we're too generous to poor people," but basically they just care about tax rates on rich people. That's it.
Saturday, July 09, 2011
Evening Thread
Spending my day patriotically converting everything I own into cash so I can send it our Galtian Overlords in hopes they create a job or something.
Congressional Staffers Already Get Free Metro
But, yes, the surface parking lots around the Capitol are an aesthetic horror.
Good Luck With That
Their "Dems" are as bad as ours.
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba courted disillusioned leftist voters on Saturday after the ruling Socialists anointed him candidate for prime minister in an uphill battle to retain power.
Reuters
In a televised speech, Rubalcaba said bank profits should finance job creation and proposed reviving a tax on the wealthy, although he stressed he would maintain austerity measures to cut Spain's deficit.
The fast track to serfdom
The simplest explanation for why no one is doing anything to help our economy recover is that that's the policy. Discuss.
Signed,
Not Atrios
Signed,
Not Atrios
Friday, July 08, 2011
Averting Armageddon
As the kabuki plays out, just remember that Congress can at any time voice vote a clean (no crap attached) debt ceiling increase if they choose to.
Hope
I imagine that the people in charge figure that, well, the economy will eventually turn around. That isn't necessarily true.
Oh, wait, sorry, I wrote that last September. In fairness, the unemployment rate has fallen from 9.6% to 9.2%.
Oh, wait, sorry, I wrote that last September. In fairness, the unemployment rate has fallen from 9.6% to 9.2%.
Anti-Stimulus
What everyone seems to forget is that as the stimulus passed its peak and began to decline it became anti-stimulus. The recovery had to be strong enough to weather that pullback in spending. It hasn't been.
OY
The twitter machine tells me Goolsbee said it's "important not to read too much into any one monthly report."
oy
oy
We Are Ruled By Fools
Neither cost of living index actually looks at what old people consume which is, you know, health care. There is no confidence fairy tied to the deficit. No cuts to Social Security will ever stop Fred Hiatt from trying to destroy the program. Deficit reduction will just lead to more tax cuts for rich people.
We have played this game before. It isn't hard.
We have played this game before. It isn't hard.
From The Archives
Me, in January 2010...
And, yes, Congress and the administration could, if they wanted to, do a lot about the jobs situation. I don't think they're likely to, however, and therefore November's going to be a lot of fun.
Jobs
+18K, unemployment to 9.2%.
Obama to give statement at 10. Presumably something about the need to cut the deficit.
So, uh, not good news.
...-39K government jobs, including -14k federal jobs...
Obama to give statement at 10. Presumably something about the need to cut the deficit.
So, uh, not good news.
...-39K government jobs, including -14k federal jobs...
Thursday, July 07, 2011
And The Real Perps Go Free
I think the often forgotten point about wrongly convicted people, whether on death row or not, is that if you locked up the wrong person it means that the actual criminal went free. For some reason those circumstances don't inspire the same outrage in Nancy Grace.
Theater
No I don't know precisely how the play ends, but here in Act II various players are stamping their feet and making demands, followed by the ultimate capitulation for the 'good of the country.'
Manufactured crises are fun.
Manufactured crises are fun.
The Pain In Spain (And Elsewhere)
I don't know about every Euro-zone country, but at least in many of them the ECB interest rate hike won't just hurt their economies because it will increase the cost of borrowing going forward, it'll also hit most people with mortgages immediately as they're mostly adjustable rate mortgages. Also, too, underwater in Spain and Ireland.
Time For Everyone To Live Paycheck To Paycheck For Awhile
And then have their paycheck taken away.
No voters don't care about monthly GDP and jobs reports, but they do care that they don't have a job, that they don't have any money, and that they've been chucked out of their homes by corrupt banks.
Lunatics.
No voters don't care about monthly GDP and jobs reports, but they do care that they don't have a job, that they don't have any money, and that they've been chucked out of their homes by corrupt banks.
Lunatics.
Deep Thought
Apparently there are professionals working in politics who think tax increases and Social Security cuts are popular.
also, too, jobs don't matter.
also, too, jobs don't matter.
Thursday Is New Jobless Day
418K new lucky duckies.
Still not good news. Monthly jobs report comes out tomorrow.
Still not good news. Monthly jobs report comes out tomorrow.
Elite Fail
Obama wants to cut Social Security, the ECB just raised interest rates...
We are ruled by horrible people.
We are ruled by horrible people.
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
On Algae Fuel
I saw this today at TPM and got a little bit of that SIWOTI syndrome.
I'm basically an algae fuel skeptic, primarily as a result of knowing and speaking to people involved in algae fuel research and development. There are plenty of different approaches people are trying to extract fuels from algae, but broadly speaking some companies try to use photosynthesis of the algae to create fuel, while others use feed stocks like sugar to grow the algae in tanks. On the back end, some companies try to extract extract the lipids while others try to ferment the biomass. There are significant drawbacks to all such approaches, and they are only economic in so far as the value of the liquid fuel is at a large premium to the actual energy content thereof. Furthermore, the scale of co-product markets is simply not commensurate with the scale of co-products to be generated were algae based fuels to be produced at real scale, and so one shouldn't expect to get much value from selling them.
Whether photosynthetic or chemosynthetic, algae (or any biological system) is very inefficient converter of sunlight into energy: on the order of 0.1% to 1% efficient. By comparison, even cheap Chinese multi-crystalline solar panels are already 12%-15% efficient (of course, electricity is not equivalent to fuel). Chemosynthetic algae feed from grown feedstocks just passes the buck upstream with additional losses (and way more water consumption). My own personal hope for a renewable fuels to supply our liquid fuel infrastructure would be either thermochemical reactors or photochemical processes, as are being explored at the new DOE energy hub the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis.
So yeah, as long as the Navy or some large airline wants to be particularly "green," they'll be willing to spend the money for some algae fuels. But I think the odds are very long that you'll ever fill up your sedan with the stuff.
I'm basically an algae fuel skeptic, primarily as a result of knowing and speaking to people involved in algae fuel research and development. There are plenty of different approaches people are trying to extract fuels from algae, but broadly speaking some companies try to use photosynthesis of the algae to create fuel, while others use feed stocks like sugar to grow the algae in tanks. On the back end, some companies try to extract extract the lipids while others try to ferment the biomass. There are significant drawbacks to all such approaches, and they are only economic in so far as the value of the liquid fuel is at a large premium to the actual energy content thereof. Furthermore, the scale of co-product markets is simply not commensurate with the scale of co-products to be generated were algae based fuels to be produced at real scale, and so one shouldn't expect to get much value from selling them.
Whether photosynthetic or chemosynthetic, algae (or any biological system) is very inefficient converter of sunlight into energy: on the order of 0.1% to 1% efficient. By comparison, even cheap Chinese multi-crystalline solar panels are already 12%-15% efficient (of course, electricity is not equivalent to fuel). Chemosynthetic algae feed from grown feedstocks just passes the buck upstream with additional losses (and way more water consumption). My own personal hope for a renewable fuels to supply our liquid fuel infrastructure would be either thermochemical reactors or photochemical processes, as are being explored at the new DOE energy hub the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis.
So yeah, as long as the Navy or some large airline wants to be particularly "green," they'll be willing to spend the money for some algae fuels. But I think the odds are very long that you'll ever fill up your sedan with the stuff.
FOUR MONTHS LATER
A couple of things of note from the town hall. First, Obama came a bit closer than I'd heard to admitting that they'd screwed the pooch on foreclosures/housing, though it was more of a "harder than we thought" kind of statement rather than a "the predatory lending program known as HAMP was evil and awful" kind of statement.
Second was stating that they didn't realize how bad the economy was until about four months into the administration. Fair enough on that, but the mistake he cited was failing to tell us that things would continue to suck for quite some time. The right response should have been "more stimulus" given that they should have realized the original stimulus was inadequate. Also it's hard to square the 'we should have told people things would be bad for a long time' notion with the January '10 deficit pivot or the July/August '10 Recovery Summer.
Second was stating that they didn't realize how bad the economy was until about four months into the administration. Fair enough on that, but the mistake he cited was failing to tell us that things would continue to suck for quite some time. The right response should have been "more stimulus" given that they should have realized the original stimulus was inadequate. Also it's hard to square the 'we should have told people things would be bad for a long time' notion with the January '10 deficit pivot or the July/August '10 Recovery Summer.
Wrong, And Also Bad Politics
No the problem isn't a sudden massive increase in structural unemployment. Also, too, "No We Can't" is not a winning message.
Bad Policy
I get why there might be an aversion to handing over parking spaces to for-profit companies, but still it makes a lot of sense from a variety of perspectives to let car sharing companies to have them for free or cheap. One parking space will serve dozens of people, not just one, and some of these people would, absent carsharing, own cars and take up even more of that precious on street parking.
Anything that helps reduce the number of cars in an urban area in a non-punitive fashion should be embraced.
Anything that helps reduce the number of cars in an urban area in a non-punitive fashion should be embraced.
I'm So Old I Can Remember When The Highway Lobby Had Some Clout
And the madness continues.
Obviously highways aren't my favorite thing, but even I don't think most of them should be left to fall apart. More than that, the inevitable delayed maintenance caused by these types of cuts causes the necessary repair costs to balloon.
The next flash point in the debate over the nation’s will to live within its means may emerge this week as House Republicans present a long-term transportation bill expected to cut funding for highways and mass transit by almost one third.
Obviously highways aren't my favorite thing, but even I don't think most of them should be left to fall apart. More than that, the inevitable delayed maintenance caused by these types of cuts causes the necessary repair costs to balloon.
Criminal Enterprise
It's good that the farcical 'lone wolf' or 'couple bad apples' angle for the Murdoch phone hacking story has finally been busted.
It sounds like for years it was standard practice to just hack into phones any time there was a story.
Awesome.
It sounds like for years it was standard practice to just hack into phones any time there was a story.
Awesome.
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Good People
The world's finest.
The phone-hacking crisis enveloping the News of the World intensified on Tuesday night after it emerged that Scotland Yard has started to contact the relatives of victims of the 7 July 2005 attacks to warn them they were targeted by the paper.
The revelation that bereaved family members may have had their mobile phone messages intercepted by Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator employed by the paper, in the days following the 2005 London bombings will heap further pressure on the title's owner, News International, part of Rupert Murdoch's media empire.
Graham Foulkes, whose son David was killed in the attack at Edgware Road tube station, confirmed that he had been contacted by officers from Operation Weeting, the Met's investigation into phone hacking. He said they had told him his mobile phone number, ex-directory landline number and address had been found in records made by Mulcaire that were recovered from the investigator's office in south London.
Elite Fail
Unemployment is at 9.1% and everybody in Washington is desperately trying to figure out how to increase taxes and cut spending. Maybe it's opposite year and somebody forgot to tell me.
And, yes, in normal times there are tax increases I'd get behind and I'm sure reasonable spending cuts exist (though whether they're being considered is another question), but the point is that the fact that we're having this conversation at all is insane. Jobs bill jobs bill jobs bill jobs bill jobs bill....
And, yes, in normal times there are tax increases I'd get behind and I'm sure reasonable spending cuts exist (though whether they're being considered is another question), but the point is that the fact that we're having this conversation at all is insane. Jobs bill jobs bill jobs bill jobs bill jobs bill....
No We Can't
Not a new observation, but I do continue to be amazed that in the greatest fucking country in the history of the universe our elite classes have basically decided that things suck and there's nothing to be done.
Just Opening Up New Possibilities
One advantage of supporting a lot of atrocious dictators is that eventually you can get mad at how atrocious they are and start a shiny new war.
It's all good. Also, too, freedom.
It's all good. Also, too, freedom.
Oldheads Rule
I've long been cautiously optimistic - if frequently worried - that Social Security and Medicare won't be destroyed based on the simple fact that old people vote and there are more and more of them. Social Security privatization was more about theft than destruction. Still I've long been a bit curious why no scrappy wannabe House members - Republican OR Democrat - haven't been campaigning on increasing the benefits...
News of the Day
Apparently a person the entire country thought was guilty of something was just acquitted.
What Exactly Is The Error?
This kind of thing is just weird. Was the error that Breitbart lied or was the error that the reporter misrepresented what was said? Apparently, it doesn't make any difference. Bygones.
Help
One professed belief from people in the White House is that doing more to help underwater homeowners was difficult because it was politically toxic. I don't know if this was ever true, but it isn't true now.
Inconceivable
I can't verify this anecdote, and I'm also presenting it from my fuzzy memory, but years ago a reader wrote in and said that he bumped into Tom Friedman. He'd had a couple of drinks and first asked if he was Paul Krugman. Then, realizing it was Friedman he asked him about his "suck on this" comment. Friedman replied, "That doesn't sound like something I would say." Well there you go.
I was reminded of that when I read about the ongoing unfolding phone hacking case in the UK.
It might be difficult or impossible conceive of, but that isn't actually a denial.
I was reminded of that when I read about the ongoing unfolding phone hacking case in the UK.
It is almost too horrific to believe that a professional journalist or even a freelance inquiry agent working on behalf of a member of the News of the World staff could behave in this way.
If the allegations are proved to be true then I can promise the strongest possible action will be taken as this company will not tolerate such disgraceful behaviour.
I hope that you all realise it is inconceivable that I knew or worse, sanctioned these appalling allegations.
It might be difficult or impossible conceive of, but that isn't actually a denial.