Rock on.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Programming Notes
Might be a bit busy for the next few days. Light blogging from me. People with the keys should feel free to go nuts. The liquor cabinet is open....
That Insurance Would Have Been Nice A Few Years Ago
Crazy that we are still here.
Maintaining full employment at a steady reasonable inflation rate isn't easy. But the difficult bit of that is the "maintaining full employmet." Killing inflation, if it pops up, is easy. The implicit 2% inflation ceiling is insane or evil, depending on your view of the people in charge.
Central bankers generally set policy based on their judgment about the most likely path for the nation’s economy. But Mr. Greenspan argued that the Fed sometimes should do more than its forecast suggested, buttressing the economy against large, potential risks. He described such moves as “taking out insurance.”
Maintaining full employment at a steady reasonable inflation rate isn't easy. But the difficult bit of that is the "maintaining full employmet." Killing inflation, if it pops up, is easy. The implicit 2% inflation ceiling is insane or evil, depending on your view of the people in charge.
Blaming The Poors Gets Old After Awhile
So let's blame the cripples!
I actually agree that we should remove work disincentives from any of these programs, disincentives that are put in place because people are horrified by the idea that any who isn't a master of the universe who gets guvmint money has anything but a subsistence existence.
But Jeebus, Chucky, $1100 per month? PLUS MEDICARE? Moochers. Nobody wants the "quasi-right not to work" for $1100 per month plus maybe Medicare. We should give them benefits and let them find work.
Given the way our elites talk about how the moochers and parasites - even the disabled ones! - cost the government in health care, I'm not optimistic about what the discourse will be like when Obamacare starts providing subsidies to the moochers and parasites to buy health insurance. The poors don't pay any taxes! And we give them free money to buy health insurance!!!
Dean has more.
Social Security Disability Insurance, however, pays people who can show that they are too mentally or physically impaired to remain in the labor force. In short, for many workers, SSDI creates a quasi-right not to work..
This paradox is getting expensive. SSDI spending has doubled as a percentage of gross domestic product in the last 25 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The program paid $128.9 billion to 8.3 million beneficiaries in fiscal 2011, about one-fifth of all Social Security spending. The average monthly benefit is $1,100, slightly less than the average Social Security retirement check, but after two years on SSDI, beneficiaries also get Medicare. Indeed, SSDI added $80 billion to the cost of Medicare in fiscal 2011
I actually agree that we should remove work disincentives from any of these programs, disincentives that are put in place because people are horrified by the idea that any who isn't a master of the universe who gets guvmint money has anything but a subsistence existence.
But Jeebus, Chucky, $1100 per month? PLUS MEDICARE? Moochers. Nobody wants the "quasi-right not to work" for $1100 per month plus maybe Medicare. We should give them benefits and let them find work.
Given the way our elites talk about how the moochers and parasites - even the disabled ones! - cost the government in health care, I'm not optimistic about what the discourse will be like when Obamacare starts providing subsidies to the moochers and parasites to buy health insurance. The poors don't pay any taxes! And we give them free money to buy health insurance!!!
Dean has more.
The Path To Riches Involves Failing Spectacularly
The modern age.
TOKYO: The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant was effectively nationalised Tuesday as it received one trillion yen ($12.8 billion) of taxpayer money to stay afloat.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Give this a listen
Dean Baker was the guest on a recent Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd, talking about his book, The End of Loser Liberalism (freely available online here), and how the government has ceased to function as a trusted third party - a necessity for healthy capitalism.
When We Were The Only Rich Guys
It was never really true, but there was more than a bit of truth to it. Much of the world was horribly poor, and much of the rest of it was recovering from war. Back then it was easy to spin the stuff that we were actually doing wrong as stuff we were doing right. Because we were rich! Well, richer than just about everybody else, so everybody else must have been doing something wrong.
Now lots of places are pretty rich. There isn't one clear SUCCESS model along the "capitalism"-democratic socialism continuum. Just examples of stuff which seems to work pretty well, and stuff which doesn't. Like our health care system.
Now lots of places are pretty rich. There isn't one clear SUCCESS model along the "capitalism"-democratic socialism continuum. Just examples of stuff which seems to work pretty well, and stuff which doesn't. Like our health care system.
Driving While Black And Famous
While I don't drive much anymore, I did drive a lot until I was 32 or so. I've been pulled over three times. Every time I deserved it (moderate speeding) and every time I had cops who, for whatever reason, didn't actually give me a speeding ticket, though once I got a reckless driving ticket which didn't come attached to any points or insurance increases.
My Usual Challenge
Somebody ask Bill Keller how much he thinks typical (mean, median, whatever) Social Security benefits for current retirees are.
They Hate Democracy
People tell me it's silly to fear the lame duck session.
Maybe not:
Update: Lizzi in comments reminds me that I should have mentioned that they don't mean old fashioned taxpayer funded stuff like the Eisenhower Highway System. They mean a National Infrastructure Bank that will move tolls and fees and suchlike into the private sector.
In this report, we argue that the only way for Democrats to save progressive priorities like NASA, highway funding, and clean energy research is to reform entitlements. The lame duck offers Congress a “Now or Never” chance to set the terms of a budget deal that saves money on entitlements, raises revenue, and protects investments. And the heart of the Democratic brand is depending on it.
Update: Lizzi in comments reminds me that I should have mentioned that they don't mean old fashioned taxpayer funded stuff like the Eisenhower Highway System. They mean a National Infrastructure Bank that will move tolls and fees and suchlike into the private sector.
The People Don't Matter
The Tory worldview really just seems to be... let the masters of the universe to masters of the universey things and the economy will be awesome.
Doesn't work if people have no jobs and no money.
Doesn't work if people have no jobs and no money.
Anti-Stimulus
An overlooked reason why we needed more stimulus was that a declining stimulus is anti-stimulus...
Recent economic data show that long before the fiscal cliff hits, federal spending already is falling—and taking a toll on the recovery. Federal spending and investment fell at an annual rate of 0.4% in the second quarter and has fallen 3.3% in the past year. Federal employment has fallen by more than 52,000 jobs in the past year and for the first time is lower than when the recovery began.
Shorter Bill Keller
The Boomers took all the money, and therefore they are morally obligated to cut retirement benefits for subsequent generations.
Pity Them
I called this already, but apparently the next several months of media will just be handed over to Republicans to cry about the plight of the poor starving defense contractors and our "boys" who will probably die if the defense cuts go through as scheduled.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
At Least I Know I'm Free
USA
One result: six million people have no income other than food stamps. Food stamps provide an income at a third of the poverty line, close to $6,300 for a family of three. It’s hard to understand how they survive.
It Ain't Easy Being Green
But there are ways.
INDIANAPOLIS -- When this summer's drought turned her prized lawn brown, Terri LoPrimo fought back, but not with sprinklers: She had it painted green, making her suddenly lush-appearing yard the envy of her neighborhood.
The Staten Island, N.Y., resident and her husband, Ronnie, hired a local entrepreneur to spruce up their yard by spraying it with a deep-green organic dye. By Monday, the couple's property was aglow with newly green blades of grass and no watering needed to sustain it.
Rather Obvious
Most of the people who get these types of seat allocations aren't actually interested, they just like knowing they can if they want to.
It's not about the event, it's about their appropriate place in the social hierarchy and the perks that they are entitled to.
It's not about the event, it's about their appropriate place in the social hierarchy and the perks that they are entitled to.
Surprising No One
Shocking.
After authorities imposed unprecedented security measures on the 2012 statewide exams, test scores tumbled across Pennsylvania, The Inquirer has learned.
At some schools, Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Ronald Tomalis said, the drops are "noticeable" - 25 percent or more.
Sunday Bobbleheads
Meet the Press has dressage.
This Week has Mittens, Gibbs, and an adviser to Mittens, because fairness.
Face the Nation has Sandra Day O'Connor, the Penn State Prezz, and Debbie W-S.
Document the atrocities!
This Week has Mittens, Gibbs, and an adviser to Mittens, because fairness.
Face the Nation has Sandra Day O'Connor, the Penn State Prezz, and Debbie W-S.
Document the atrocities!
No Future
It really ticked me off that (for me, anyway) NBC's plausibly live presentation of the opening ceremonies at the Olympics cut away to commercial from the Pistols bit in the history of British Pop Music segment. I only heard the first few chords and said to myself "God Save the Queen"? Really? But I wasn't sure.
Fortunately, my local bodega's NY Post allowed me to confirm that it was indeed "God Save the Queen."
Good sport, she who ain't no human being. Who knew?
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Memorex
Someone (I'm sorry, Someone) in my twitstream remarked on how silly it was for NBC to have multiple channels, and still not have everything live. I think that's wrong.
I don't care about live, really. The DVR has made watching the NFL a much more pleasant and much less time-consuming experience. You give an hour or so head start, and you can skip all the nonsense, and do an hour of chores.
While I don't care about whether it's live or not, I really hate when it's edited.
Sports has two compelling elements.
First, the uncertainty of the result. Unlike any teevee show or movie, there is no way to predict what's going to happen in the end.
Second, the soap opera--the constantly fluctuating relationships between players, between players and coaches, coaches and management. LinMania! or Tebow! There's the soap opera of the game, the story arc of the season, and the overarching tale of the franchise.
The Olympics! Prime Time, presented by the writers and producers of NBC, intentionally sacrifices uncertain results in order to present the soap opera. But because they also insist on inserting a predetermined script (player, team, sport, USA!!), even that part of sports gets lost.
I don't care about live, really. The DVR has made watching the NFL a much more pleasant and much less time-consuming experience. You give an hour or so head start, and you can skip all the nonsense, and do an hour of chores.
While I don't care about whether it's live or not, I really hate when it's edited.
Sports has two compelling elements.
First, the uncertainty of the result. Unlike any teevee show or movie, there is no way to predict what's going to happen in the end.
Second, the soap opera--the constantly fluctuating relationships between players, between players and coaches, coaches and management. LinMania! or Tebow! There's the soap opera of the game, the story arc of the season, and the overarching tale of the franchise.
The Olympics! Prime Time, presented by the writers and producers of NBC, intentionally sacrifices uncertain results in order to present the soap opera. But because they also insist on inserting a predetermined script (player, team, sport, USA!!), even that part of sports gets lost.
So Philly
So awesome.
A Center City hotel was evacuated and a man is in custody after police say they discovered a meth lab inside the building.
It happened at the Hampton Inn on Broad and Race. Investigators say an alarm system detected chemicals from a portable methamphetamine lab on the third floor of the building. Over 300 people inside the hotel were evacuated.
Friday, July 27, 2012
You're Morons
Funny.
NBC spokesman Christopher McCloskey said it was never the intention to stream the ceremony. He said it was a complex entertainment spectacle that does not translate well online because it requires context.
I Never Understand These Stories
I get that if the bank makes an error in your favor you don't actually have a right to spend the money, but if they make an error the other way they aren't going to be charged with "receiving stolen property." If my bank fucks up and won't let me access my money for a month I won't be able to send them to jail.
Hell Is The Suburban Office Park
Back during my college years I did a lot of summer temp work. I could type reasonably well and knew how to do basic computer stuff. The jobs weren't hard, but I still found them to be incredibly soul sucking. There was just something horrible about those places.
Office "park." Right.
Office "park." Right.
Pre-Recorded
I get that NBC wants to produce a primetime "Olympics show" every night, but with several networks and the internet you would think they would, also, too, show more things live.
Weird people.
Weird people.
Maybe We Need To Learn To Be Bullying Cool Kids
It isn't quite as extreme, but there are a lot of similarities between now and the Iraq debate. All of the Cool Kids know how fucking right austerity is, and are condescending to all of the silly children who think they're wrong. Team Austerity is where the cool kids are, at the parties with the fancy drinks, and all the losers hang out at that dorky Paul Krugman's house, playing dungeons and dragons.
A Job For Me
Apparently there's now an opening for head of CNN.
I'd actually probably be pretty good at that. Cable News and I are frenemies.
I'd actually probably be pretty good at that. Cable News and I are frenemies.
The People In Charge Make Decisions Which Have Consequences
It's a bit difficult to comprehend our accountability-free era. It's as if it's impolite to point out that the people in charge of things make decisions that impact millions of people and are largely responsible for the consequences of their actions.
I guess it all goes back to Iraq. "We" - meaning Official Washington - all fucked up, so nobody really did. Bygones.
I guess it all goes back to Iraq. "We" - meaning Official Washington - all fucked up, so nobody really did. Bygones.
Only On Days When Romney Is Truly Horrible Do I Find Joy
Given the real problems that exist I find it hard to have much interest in the day to day nonsense of the campaign. Romneyshambles was a bit of fun, however.
But They're Still Very Serious
Krgthulu:
So it’s time to stop paying attention to the alleged wise men who hijacked our policy discussion and made the deficit the center of conversation. They’ve been wrong about everything — and these days even the financial markets are telling us that we should be focused on jobs and growth.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
I Think The Real Lesson Is
It's okay to be a big company with a stable revenue and stable predictable dividends.
That used to be the norm.
That used to be the norm.
Romneyshambles
I've recommended before, but the source of the Romneyshambles pun (omnishambles) almost finally has a US release date.
Yes, Minister for the New Labour Age.
Yes, Minister for the New Labour Age.
Next He'll Ask The Queen To Do Something About All The Greek Immigrants
Not enough car elevators in English houses.
Sorry, Britain.
You're well and truly fucked.
David Cameron has delivered a "clear and unequivocal message" that the government will stand by its deficit reduction plan and "finish the job".
MUST SEE FILM OF THE YEAR
I haven't actually seen it, but what's the point of having a blog if you can't promote stuff that a family member is in.
...try this one if that one doesn't work.
...try this one if that one doesn't work.
Word Salad Says What
I do not think the brain trust in the UK has any clue.
"We're part of a team," he said. "We have a collectively agreed policy, and I'm delivering on my bit of it, which centres particularly on the area of industrial strategy, and I'm not proposing a radically different approach. I would be building on what George Osborne has already achieved."
Osborne was "not doing two jobs" and worked "full-time" on Treasury business, he said.
"We all contribute in a collective way to the overall decisions of government. I am responsible for the business, innovation and skills department. I also contribute to wider debates on the economy … we both work hard, and we both work full-time on what we're supposed to be doing, which is getting this crisis-hit economy out of the mire that we find ourselves in. We've got a combined approach, a team approach, and we're sticking to it."
On the government's economic strategy, he said: "I think it's right and necessary that we have budget discipline – that's the path we've embarked on and we must stick with that. But I think it is possible at the same time to have the foundations of a recovery which is sustained."
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Wednesday Evening Deep Thought
From Oscar Wilde, or maybe Abe Lincoln:
The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young
Wednesday Graphic Novel Blogging
Watchmen was actually really good. I thought the movie was... I dunno. I'd read the book and still had no idea what the movie was about.
Options
The maddening thing about the UK is they mostly don't have the institutional issues that the US has and they definitely don't have the "no good options" problem that Spain and Greece arguably have (there are good options, just not ones that Spain and Greece are empowered to choose on their own).
They can borrow money basically for free and spend it on stuff the instant the PM decides to do it. Here in the US our political system guarantees that everybody-and-nobody is to blame for inaction, but in the UK they can basically just... make it so.
They can borrow money basically for free and spend it on stuff the instant the PM decides to do it. Here in the US our political system guarantees that everybody-and-nobody is to blame for inaction, but in the UK they can basically just... make it so.
They'll Long Have A Quality Inexpensive Product That No One Else Does
As I've said a million times, there's basically no possible way for Netflix to "win" streaming. Their best possible path forward is to do... what they were doing, which is basically saying "we've got a decent amount of stuff available to stream for our customers, which we are constantly battling with content companies over the rights, oh, and, also, too, we can ship every DVD ever produced to your house in about 24 hours."
I don't forsee a world where anyone locks up the rights for a universal affordable streaming service. Netflix, if they'd focus on their core product, will be able to provide the next best thing for as long as the first sale doctrine exists.
I don't forsee a world where anyone locks up the rights for a universal affordable streaming service. Netflix, if they'd focus on their core product, will be able to provide the next best thing for as long as the first sale doctrine exists.
In Which We Are Shocked To Discover Contractionary Policies Are Contractionary
The stupidest fucking people run the world.
At the same time, Mr. Roumeliotis and others note, the troika underestimated the negative effect its medicine would have on the Greek economy.
“The argument that is used usually by the troika in order to criticize Greece — and to ignore their mistakes — is that the deep recession is because of the nonimplementation of the structural reforms,” Mr. Roumeliotis said. While Athens has fallen woefully short on that front, he conceded, the bigger problem is that the severe cuts contributed to the downward spiral by decimating economic demand within Greece.
Not Really A Shock
It's what happens when you put a bunch of evil skimmers and the stupidest fucking man on the face of the planet in charge of your economy.
But interests rates are still low. So, you know, profit!!!
Going to be bad when olympics-related program activities end.
oy
The "deep-rooted problems" are the policies of the government and the fact that the chancellor is the stupidest fucking person on the face of the planet.
Britain's economic output collapsed by 0.7% in the second quarter of 2012 as the country's double-dip recession extended into a third quarter.
But interests rates are still low. So, you know, profit!!!
Going to be bad when olympics-related program activities end.
oy
"We all know the country has deep-rooted economic problems and these disappointing figures confirm that. We're dealing with our debts at home and the debt crisis abroad. We've made progress over the last two years in cutting the deficit by 25% and businesses have created over 800,000 new jobs. But given what's happening in the world we need a relentless focus on the economy and recent announcements on infrastructure and lending show that's exactly what we're doing."
The "deep-rooted problems" are the policies of the government and the fact that the chancellor is the stupidest fucking person on the face of the planet.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Well That Sucks
Happy hour is cancelled. Sherman Hemsley died.
Favorite Hemsley-related trivia: he was a giant Yes fan and for awhile worked on a funk rock opera with Jon Anderson.
Favorite Hemsley-related trivia: he was a giant Yes fan and for awhile worked on a funk rock opera with Jon Anderson.
Only The Government Would Have Created The Internet
I think the aspect of the "government invented the internet" which isn't emphasized enough is that it isn't just some random fluke that it was born out of various public and publicly financed entities. A private company would not have created it. Before the internet (or www, depending on precisely what we're talking about) we had various pre-internets, which were all cool enough in their own way and offered various applications, information, and services to people. In some ways the were superior to the internet of old, but they weren't the "information superhighway" which we could all just hook into any way we wanted. It wasn't so much the technology, though it was that too, it was the idea, and it isn't an idea a for-profit company would have pursued in nearly the same way.
In some ways we're seeing the return to the pre-internet version, though the actual internet still exists. Facebook polices content, and people expect them to for reasons I can't fathom. Blogger doesn't. Not yet.
In some ways we're seeing the return to the pre-internet version, though the actual internet still exists. Facebook polices content, and people expect them to for reasons I can't fathom. Blogger doesn't. Not yet.
The Whole Purpose Is To Enable Theft
I'm not entirely sure what happens after all of the public schools are shut down and all of the people who run the charter schools go to jail, but I guess we'll find out pretty soon.
Who Hears And Sees Those Ads
People have been talking about this for years, and I'm sure there's Real Research done, but I imagine that there is increasingly a giant generational divide between those who actually get a barrage of campaign ads on the teevee and radio and those who don't. It must be the case that younger people (and I don't mean kids, I mean people under 40 or so) are just much less likely to see/hear those ads, either passively or actively. I think a few years ago people were asserting this a bit prematurely, but it has to be the case now.
The Real Tax Cheats
Ah, yes, it's the blue collar workers who take a bit under the table, and their customers who enable them, who are the real problems.
Because of this, rich assholes must hide all of their money, because fairness. If only the plumbers could set a better example...
In truth, of course, there are good reasons plumbers would prefer to be paid in cash aside from a desire to avoid paying taxes. A big one being that nobody in the UK has checks anymore.
Because of this, rich assholes must hide all of their money, because fairness. If only the plumbers could set a better example...
In truth, of course, there are good reasons plumbers would prefer to be paid in cash aside from a desire to avoid paying taxes. A big one being that nobody in the UK has checks anymore.
Industry
The NRA is an industry lobby for gun manufacturers. They aren't a wingnut ACLU.
(I should credit @cliffschecter and @stuart_zechman for this belated insight.)
(I should credit @cliffschecter and @stuart_zechman for this belated insight.)
Monday, July 23, 2012
As Stupid As We Are Now
We are, in most areas, just slightly less stupid than we used to be.
slightly.
But there were still rough spots. Before the first shuttle flight, Dr. Ride — chosen in part because she was known for keeping her cool under stress — politely endured reporters’ asking whether spaceflight would affect her reproductive organs, whether she planned to have children, whether she would wear a bra or makeup in space, whether she cried on the job, how she would handle menstruation in space. The CBS News reporter Diane Sawyer asked her to demonstrate a newly installed privacy curtain around the shuttle’s toilet. On “The Tonight Show,” Johnny Carson joked that the shuttle flight would be delayed because Dr. Ride had to find a purse to match her shoes.
At a NASA news conference, Dr. Ride said: “It’s too bad this is such a big deal. It’s too bad our society isn’t further along.”
slightly.
As Though Nothing Could Fall
What's interesting is that all of the victim blaming "why were there no heroes in Aurora" people are the kinds of assholes who wouldn't ever think of doing anything to help anybody else.
Heroism isn't generosity to them, just a sense of personal infallibility.
Heroism isn't generosity to them, just a sense of personal infallibility.
What's It All About Then
Jay asked my opinion on just why they want to bleed the patient faster. I don't claim to possess divine knowledge on this subject and am not a mindreader, but generally I think that in situations where you have multiple actors, it's wrong to imagine there's a single reason or cause. What we probably have are various combinations of stupid and evil. I'm sure there are people involved who are just corrupt, just trying to make a buck for themselves or their buddies. You have ideology of the stupid non-partisan centrist type, who truly believe that labor market "reforms" are "necessary" and that there's no possible way that a solution to a debt problem is more spending (it's a recession problem, not a debt problem, of course). There's ideology of the evil kind, as you have with the Tories, simply seeing this as a wonderful opportunity to punish poor, old, and disabled people as much as possible, because if you can't kick a cripple when he's down, what's the point of living, really?
And of course you have plenty of people along for the ride, because that's their job and all the cool kids "know" that austerity is the key to our future.
And of course you have plenty of people along for the ride, because that's their job and all the cool kids "know" that austerity is the key to our future.
Winning
Not sure it looks like this.
WASHINGTON — The ranks of America’s poor are on track to climb to levels unseen in nearly half a century, erasing gains from the war on poverty in the 1960s amid a weak economy and fraying government safety net.
Speaking of Infrastrucure Needs
Well actually we don't speak of them enough. Not my neighborhood, but not too far...
Bleed The Patient Faster
The people in charge are determined to destroy the world.
The Bank of Spain has added to the gloom this morning, predicting that the Spanish recession deepened in the last three months.
In its latest forecasts, the central bank estimated that Spanish GDP fell by 0.4% in the second quarter of 2012, a sharper fall than the 0.3% contraction recorded in Q1. That would mean Spain's economy was 1% smaller than a year ago.
According to Reuters, the Bank's deputy governor is arguing now that the solution is "more cuts, more reforms, and new mechanisms to integrate the eurozone". But will market patience last?
Not That There's Anything Wrong With That
Since I think I didn't make myself clear in this post, I wasn't saying that everyone without a significant other was lonely, or had no friends, or had a miserable life, or anything of the sort. I just meant that most people without a significant other could easily be portrayed as being a loner, that their lives would fit the "model" of the loner, even if they have a nontrivial social life. My point was about perception and portrayal, not the reality of lives.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Most Single People Could Plausibly Be Described A Loners
Dave Cullen:
My point isn't really about the shooter - about whom I know nothing - but just the general phenomenon. Most people without clear significant others, except for a minority of extreme and likable extroverts, have a "loner" existence.
Over the next several days, you will be hit with all sorts of evidence fragments suggesting one motive or another. Don't believe any one detail. Mr. Holmes has already been described as a loner. Proceed with caution on that. Nearly every shooter gets tagged with that label, because the public is convinced that that's the profile, and people barely acquainted with the gunman parrot it back to every journalist they encounter. The Secret Service report determined that it's usually not true.
My point isn't really about the shooter - about whom I know nothing - but just the general phenomenon. Most people without clear significant others, except for a minority of extreme and likable extroverts, have a "loner" existence.
Disappearing Murals
This is a wee bit of an issue in Philadelphia, as empty lots get redeveloped the murals that were put there to make the empty lot a bit more pleasant disappear.
Fortunately it hasn't yet been an impediment to that redevelopment, at least as far I can tell. Not that all development is good, but empty lots generally really really suck, even if they have nice murals.
Fortunately it hasn't yet been an impediment to that redevelopment, at least as far I can tell. Not that all development is good, but empty lots generally really really suck, even if they have nice murals.
Come Fire Walk With Me
I don't know how these parlor tricks persist in the age of the internet. I remember hearing about firewalking when I was a kid. Maybe if I was smart I could have come up with a couple of theories about how it works. If really motivated I could've asked friend, parent, science teacher. With a little luck one of these people might have had a definitive answer, but there's a pretty good chance they also would have just had some theories unless they'd actually put some effort into studying the issue.
This is the kind of thing the internet excels at. I can just type in firewalking into a search engine and get a pretty convincing explanation.
This is the kind of thing the internet excels at. I can just type in firewalking into a search engine and get a pretty convincing explanation.
It wasn't the guns....
He woulda used a pineapple, or something, if he couldn't buy the assault rifle.
Culture of Truth translates Dancin' Dave and his Friends.
Culture of Truth translates Dancin' Dave and his Friends.
20 Minutes In The Corner?
Not expecting anything serious. Happy to be wrong.
The N.C.A.A. will hold a news conference on Monday morning to announce what were described as “corrective and punitive measures” against Penn State in the wake of the child sex abuse scandal involving the former football coach Jerry Sandusky.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Even Crazier After All These Years
I used to live in Laguna Beach. Then the absurdly priced mansions went for...$2 million? $3 million maybe.
I lived in a cheap-for-Laguna-Beach 2 bdr at..I dunno... $1400/ month or so.
I lived in a cheap-for-Laguna-Beach 2 bdr at..I dunno... $1400/ month or so.
Goodbye Blue Monday
Throughout my life I've known a lot of people like Vonnegut's Dwayne Hoover, susceptible to the notion that they are the only free willed individuals in existence, that all others are simply programmed robots. Interestingly, some of these people are actually quite nice. Some are assholes. They're just... a bit unable to accept the idea that other people are just like them, except a bit different.
No real point here.
No real point here.
Bloodbath
I can imagine there's something to the fantasy of the single well-trained marksman performing a heroic act, but in the conservative fantasy several people would pull out their guns in a dark, noisy, smoky room and instantly no one would have any idea who the "bad guy" actually was. One significant identifier of "the bad guy" is that he's the one with the fucking gun. They'd all just shoot each other. And everyone in the way.
Life's not a movie.
Life's not a movie.
What About Mothers Who Can't Afford Night Nurses
I was complaining on the twitter about all the ZOMG HOW WILL PREGGO MARISSA MAYER HANDLE THINGS chatter, a sharp contrast to the general lack of coverage of the difficulties that non-superrich working mothers face all the time. Then I saw this column so I should link to it.
Money doesn't solve all problems, but it certainly solves most of them. Mayer will never ever have to worry about whether or not she can afford care for her child when she's busy with other things.
Money doesn't solve all problems, but it certainly solves most of them. Mayer will never ever have to worry about whether or not she can afford care for her child when she's busy with other things.
Maybe He Isn't Really A "Deficit Hawk"?
Because none of them actually are no matter what they say?
The "grand bargain" will be cut social security, which has nothing to do with the deficit, in exchange for closing loopholes which will reappear in the next budget.
No deal.
But the back-room actions on black liquor point to just how difficult it will be to lower the budget deficit through painless changes in the tax code. Even for a self-proclaimed deficit hawk like Mr. Crapo, one man’s loophole can be another’s vital constituent interest.
The "grand bargain" will be cut social security, which has nothing to do with the deficit, in exchange for closing loopholes which will reappear in the next budget.
No deal.
Friday, July 20, 2012
If I Were Your Benevolent Dictator
I would take away all of your guns. But I'm not. Given our current legal realities (Supremo version of the constitution) I'm honestly not sure if tiny legally possible nibble around the edges "gun control" really matters.
Friday Movie Recs
Long thought The Fisher King was one that slipped through the cracks somehow. Really just a nice movie.
Evil Geniuses
Back in the early days of the Obama administration, when they needed to get congressional approval for the other half of the TARP money, a few Dems said we really need to do something for screwed homeowners. The administration said fine, how about FIFTY BILLION DOLLARS for screwed homeowners. Great!
So what does Timmeh think to do with it? Not help screwed homeowners, of course, but instead to use it as a way of conning them into giving more of their money to the banks before their homes are stolen.
Genius.
So what does Timmeh think to do with it? Not help screwed homeowners, of course, but instead to use it as a way of conning them into giving more of their money to the banks before their homes are stolen.
Genius.
Logic
It is unassailable.
And hopefully all that Atlantic City prosperity will spread everywhere.
The revenue travails of Atlantic City, particularly this summer's disappointing early returns at the new Revel casino on the Boardwalk, are proof that New Jersey needs to expand gambling beyond the Shore resort, proponents of a Meadowlands casino say.
And hopefully all that Atlantic City prosperity will spread everywhere.
Narrative Progression After Mass Killings
1) Is killer a Muslim?
If yes, terrorism! Stop.
If no, NOT TERRORISM. Go to 2)
2) Is killer a left wing nut or a right wing nut?
If yes, terrorism! Stop.
If no, NOT TERRORISM. Go to 2)
2) Is killer a left wing nut or a right wing nut?
Unacceptable
As I always say, a big problem is that people who make policy - and the people who write about it - mostly don't use public transit.
Cabinet ministers are up in arms after being ordered to use public transport rather than official Government cars to get to events at the London Games, The Independent has learnt.
Downing Street has banned ministers from taking cars altogether, fearing bad publicity if ministers are caught using special Olympic "ZiL" lanes (named after the limousine lanes used by Soviet leaders) while everyone else crams on to the Tube.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Weird
If I fished every day I think I'd want to eat the suckers.
"I see some gross things in the water. You see condoms floating on top of the water. It just turns me off," says Vera Adams, who fishes in the Schuylkill almost every day, weather permitting. And she has a second reason for not eating her catches: She says she would be too squeamish to cut a fish's head off.
What If We Were Right
For years liberals and some "scientists" have been pushing this global warming bullshit in order to achieve our goals of... actually, shit, I've never been quite sure why we've been doing it, but we have. But what if Al Gore really is fat?
Joking aside, to me the time frame is important. Something "bad" over the next 100 years is something that can be adjusted to, some sudden radical change, like the Gulf Stream switching directions overnight, could be be absolutely catastrophic... and everything in between... the cost will be inbetween.
Not a lot of smarts in this post. I guess the point I'm making is that I've never quite had a good sense of the probability distribution of likely outcomes, from bad to totally fucking bad, even if the basic "world's getting hotter" story is true.
Joking aside, to me the time frame is important. Something "bad" over the next 100 years is something that can be adjusted to, some sudden radical change, like the Gulf Stream switching directions overnight, could be be absolutely catastrophic... and everything in between... the cost will be inbetween.
Not a lot of smarts in this post. I guess the point I'm making is that I've never quite had a good sense of the probability distribution of likely outcomes, from bad to totally fucking bad, even if the basic "world's getting hotter" story is true.
Pity The Poor Starving Defense Contractors
And their miraculous ability, over the next few months, to get a sympathetic hearing in our elite media about their massive needs for ever increasing amounts of your tax money.
Sports
I like this aside in Pareene's Sorkin piece.
I've come to like sports quite a bit more than I did when I was younger, but I am always struck by the number of sports fans (and, frankly, this could be generalized to lots of activities) who think that their incredibly time-consuming passion is not basically frivolous, and that their many many hours per week spent following sports is a Very Important Activity which should be distinguished from other frivolous things which aren't, such as sports involving ladies.
It's fun. You enjoy it. Great.
That’s what Sorkin thinks of basically every woman and every person under 50. He hates everything frivolous — “frivolous” is womanly things like gossip and fashion and television not created by Aaron Sorkin but explicitly not, say, sports — and McAvoy’s war on frivolity extends to what Jane Fonda’s network owner refers to as “human interest” material on, say, obesity. (Which is obviously, in our reality, a very real and complex problem, but whatever.)
I've come to like sports quite a bit more than I did when I was younger, but I am always struck by the number of sports fans (and, frankly, this could be generalized to lots of activities) who think that their incredibly time-consuming passion is not basically frivolous, and that their many many hours per week spent following sports is a Very Important Activity which should be distinguished from other frivolous things which aren't, such as sports involving ladies.
It's fun. You enjoy it. Great.
When Socialist Hellholes Become Libertarian Paradises
We've seen a string of this kind of thing lately, with right wingers pointing to countries which they'd normally think of as socialist hellholes as somehow proving conservatism fucking right, maybe because they adopt a single conservative-sounding policy against a backdrop of all that socialism. I think they adopted Sweden as their own at one point.
Screwing Each Other
The magnitude of the consequences LIBOR rigging scandal will depend on how badly the big guys were screwed.
The little guys they screwed in turn, not so much.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Morgan Stanley are among financial firms that may bring lawsuits against their biggest rivals as regulators on three continents examine whether other banks manipulated the London interbank offered rate, known as Libor, said Bradley Hintz, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Even if Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley forgo claims on their own behalf, they oversee money-market funds that may be required to pursue restitution for injured clients, he said.
The little guys they screwed in turn, not so much.
Not Just The Phones
So awesome.
One could imagine how reporters saw the phone "hacking" as somehow just an innocent game, as they were hacking phones using default passwords because no one ever bothers to set their voicemail passwords, but this would certainly be a whole new level.
A journalist at the Sun has been arrested in north London by police from Scotland Yard's Operation Tuleta investigation into computer hacking.
...
Operation Tuleta is investigating the use of so-called "trojan" emails which allow a hacker to take over a target's computer.
One could imagine how reporters saw the phone "hacking" as somehow just an innocent game, as they were hacking phones using default passwords because no one ever bothers to set their voicemail passwords, but this would certainly be a whole new level.
Thursday is New Jobless Day
386K new lucky duckies, suggesting last week's pretty good number was indeed impacted by the holiday.
What's It All For
Not that we didn't know this.
The banks are more important than the sovereign or the people.
The up to €100bn, which the euro zone has undertaken to provide to Spanish banks is to do just that, it is only for that purpose and not for any other.
There is no link between assistance for bank recapitalisation in Spain and any other type of financial assistance, which might be requested at some further juncture by Spain or anybody else
The banks are more important than the sovereign or the people.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Good
We really don't need to reduce the number of hospitals that provide comprehensive necessary health care for women.
Abington Health and Holy Redeemer Health System have called off the plans for a merger, after controversy over the decision to end abortions at Abington Memorial Hospital.
Teh Vetting
This is the kind of thing I mean when I talk about how it seems like the conservative blogger brain trust is running the Romney campaign.
VETTING!!!!!
VETTING!!!!!
Ok By Me
I'd be fine with with a genuinely urban casino plunked somewhere appropriately, but anything that gets built will be inevitably surrounded by too much parking and, casino-style, with its back turned towards the city as much as possible, so you might as well just put it where there is already plenty of parking.
Or
They think they're doing their job? Or they're not afraid of looking like they're helping Obama, they're unwilling to do something that might help Obama.
Tribal loyalty is strong, even for highly educated technocrats.
Tribal loyalty is strong, even for highly educated technocrats.
No Reason, Really
Funny.
Despite my personal preferences, I'm not one who thinks this is actually all that wrong, except maybe the why would you ever want to leave your four wheeled smart phone (!) bit, but when you're living not all that far from New York City where people are paying extreme prices for an entirely different living situation you should have some idea that there is actually a market for something else.
Still I suppose it's true that some version of the suburbs is what plenty of people want, though I expect some of those people would like a slightly less car-dependent version of the burbs which isn't available at affordable prices in many places.
The reality is that the patterns of most Americans reveals in consumer survey after survey that the overwhelming majority of people prefer to live in a house with a yard, drive a car to work and for shopping.
As such, it’s probably unrealistic to expect a mass migration to mass transit. The latest auto show in Detroit unveiled vehicles that have morphed into smartphones with four wheels and an ever-increasing fuel efficient engine. Even the least expensive cars today are smart, fun and sexy; why would anyone ever want to leave them?
Despite my personal preferences, I'm not one who thinks this is actually all that wrong, except maybe the why would you ever want to leave your four wheeled smart phone (!) bit, but when you're living not all that far from New York City where people are paying extreme prices for an entirely different living situation you should have some idea that there is actually a market for something else.
Still I suppose it's true that some version of the suburbs is what plenty of people want, though I expect some of those people would like a slightly less car-dependent version of the burbs which isn't available at affordable prices in many places.
So Where Are They?
Not seeing any.
The latest example came Tuesday when U.S. lawmakers detailed a pattern of deceit and illicit activity at HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe’s biggest bank. For years, the bank looked the other way as terrorists, drug cartels and other criminals used its far-flung operations as a conduit into the U.S. financial system, according to a Senate report. As Leopoldo Barroso, a top HSBC anti-money-laundering official told the bank upon his departure in 2008, the institution’s standard practice was to pursue “profit and targets at all costs” and it was “only a matter of time” before it faced criminal charges.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The Stupid Is Strong With This One
Jeebus just raise the goddamn gas tax. You have a collection and enforcement mechanism already in place and a tax which is mostly invisible to taxpayers. The gas tax is superior to a VMT tax in a variety of ways. One day electric vehicles might be a problem, but right now the problem is that gas taxes aren't indexed to inflation.
But, yes, smart politician, increasing the gas tax is political poison but adding an exciting new tax which would require people to regularly write yet another check to the government will be extremely popular.
But, yes, smart politician, increasing the gas tax is political poison but adding an exciting new tax which would require people to regularly write yet another check to the government will be extremely popular.
The Reality
The only thing that will spur additional Fed action is a stock market crash, because it would mean their strategy of boosting stock prices wasn't boosting stock prices enough.
Fail
I imagine I'll write a version of this post a million times, but the people in charge are failures. If, in January 2009, I given a rough outline of what would happen in policy, the economy, and the financial system over the next 3.5 years, people would have thought I was crazy. No one would have believed that the people in charge would tolerate such sustained high unemployment. And yet they have. It is indeed a choice. They can make things better but they have chosen not to.
It's Ben's World
Fed chief testimony says the jobs situation sucks and that the Fed is prepared to act.
Well as long as they're prepared.
Well as long as they're prepared.
Blame
One mystery to me in our current "blame the teachers" culture is why no one points fingers at the administrators. They're, you know, in charge. I don't claim my anecdata proves anything, but in my schoolgoing life the principals and vice-principals were for the most part (there were exceptions) the worst people in the world.
Lightner, a student advocate, reported it to her supervisor at the Arc of Chester County, which provides services to disabled people. They then requested all records about the student under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and uncovered other derogatory messages from Madden about the teen specifically and special needs students in general.
He called the teen a "psychopath" and worried that he could be another "Hinckley, Booth and Oswald." He also complained that special-needs students, "the guilty people," have more rights than "the innocent."
Madden, who did not respond to a call to his office for this article, was suspended in March. Although superintendent Raymond A. Fischer recommended that he be terminated, the school board voted, 6-3, to reinstate him July 1 with one big condition. He will no longer work with special-education students, according to Fischer.
Everybody's Fault But Mine
The people in charge refuse to take responsibility for anything.
The accountability-free era.
Why did the New York Fed take such an active interest in the potential rigging of Libor, but the Bank of England did not, asks Pat McFaddon
King explains that the two central banks are different: "They're a regulator, we're not ...", adding that the Bank had to pass the concerns on to the BBA.
So you're just a postbox, asks McFaddon?
Certainly not, replies an irked governor. The Bank played an important role in the BBA's inquiry, he adds.
The accountability-free era.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Priorities
On one hand shifting priorities towards dealing with the consequences of prescription drug abuse is appropriate, on the other hand this generally shouldn't be a criminal issue...
BWAHAHAHAHA
I haven't paid any attention to who actually works for Romney, but anyone else get the sense that he's hired the brain trust that was The Conservative Blog Revolution?
Afternoon Thread
Light blogging today. Bit of a mental health break. Go read one of the many fine blogs on that list towards the bottom left of the screen.
Privatize Everything
The olympics are going to be hilarious.
I'm sure most of this "security" isn't and isn't necessary, but everyone pretends it is.
And the company will get paid in full.
In Manchester police were forced to step in after only 17 of an expected 56 G4S staff turned up at an Olympic team hotel in Salford at the weekend.
A similar picture was emerging in the West Midlands, where the regional chair of the police federation, Ian Edwards, said the force had had to provide 150 officers a day to cover a hotel in Warwickshire where Olympic footballers were staying.
I'm sure most of this "security" isn't and isn't necessary, but everyone pretends it is.
And the company will get paid in full.
Criminal Enterprises
I do not know how a massively fraudulent banking system is supposed to save the economy.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
The Golden Age Of Televison
I've only ever seen the first episode of Breaking Bad. It was good. People on the internets are excited about the 5th season premier. I failed to watch the series after the first episode not because it was bad, or because I don't watch a lot of TV, but because there's just a hell of a lot of good TV around these days. If not stuff that's currently airing, the stuff like Breaking Bad that you missed from a couple of years ago.
Spreading Santorum
I thought this ad was interesting not because it was mean or brutal or "going for the jugular" as other people have portrayed it. I thought it was interesting because it suggested that the Obama campaign, unlike Democrats of yore, might get that the most underused weapon in Dem politics is ridicule.
Bob Casey didn't beat Santorum by over 17 points because of fond memories of his pop or the general fact that everyone named Bob Casey wins election in Pennsylvania, he beat him by 17 points because people turned Santorum into a joke.
And it isn't even all that hard.
Bob Casey didn't beat Santorum by over 17 points because of fond memories of his pop or the general fact that everyone named Bob Casey wins election in Pennsylvania, he beat him by 17 points because people turned Santorum into a joke.
And it isn't even all that hard.
Breath, Not Holding
Nobody's going to jail.
As regulators ramp up their global investigation into the manipulation of interest rates, the Justice Department has identified potential criminal wrongdoing by big banks and individuals at the center of the scandal.
Sunday Bobbleheads
This Week has Rahmbo and Ayotte.
Meet the Press has Gillespie, Durbin, and Kyl.
Face the Nation has Paul Ryan and the big meanie Stephanie Cutter.
Document the atrocities!
Meet the Press has Gillespie, Durbin, and Kyl.
Face the Nation has Paul Ryan and the big meanie Stephanie Cutter.
Document the atrocities!
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Netflixed
I don't think this piece on Netflix makes clear the real point: absent a different legal regime, streaming video might be the future of how people watch rental videos generally, but it's pretty obvious that there is no successful business model for subscription streaming that isn't essentially owned by the content makers. Well, unless net neutrality goes away and the cable cos get to throw their monopoly weight around in this area.
Streaming might kill Netflix DVD-by-mail eventually, but Netflix won't fix that problem with streaming. They'll never make money there.
Streaming might kill Netflix DVD-by-mail eventually, but Netflix won't fix that problem with streaming. They'll never make money there.
Priorities
I hope some day I manage to fail so supremely.
I love being a PA taxpayer.
That same month, Mr. Paterno, the football coach at Penn State, began negotiating with his superiors to amend his contract, with the timing something of a surprise because the contract was not set to expire until the end of 2012, according to university documents and people with knowledge of the discussions. By August, Mr. Paterno and the university’s president, both of whom were by then embroiled in the Sandusky investigation, had reached an agreement.
Mr. Paterno was to be paid $3 million at the end of the 2011 season if he agreed it would be his last. Interest-free loans totaling $350,000 that the university had made to Mr. Paterno over the years would be forgiven as part of the retirement package. He would also have the use of the university’s private plane and a luxury box at Beaver Stadium for him and his family to use over the next 25 years.
I love being a PA taxpayer.
Capitalism
It's brilliant!
A cache of documents released yesterday by the New York Federal Reserve showed that US officials had evidence from April 2008 that Barclays was knowingly posting false reports about the rate at which it could borrow in order to assuage market concerns about its solvency.
An unnamed Barclays employee told a New York Fed analyst, Fabiola Ravazzolo, on 11 April 2008: "So we know that we're not posting, um, an honest Libor." He said Barclays started under-reporting Libor because graphs showing the relatively high rates at which the bank had to borrow attracted "unwanted attention" and the "share price went down".
Late Night Service
Good. We spend a lot of time fretting about drunk driving without doing the obvious things to give people other options...
Those who ride Los Angles County’s rail lines soon will be able to stay out a bit later. Transportation officials announced this week that all Metro rail lines will run until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Riders on the Blue, Green, Gold, Red, Purple and Expo Lines soon will be able to catch a train every 20 minutes between midnight and 2 a.m., according to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Monsters
I could say more about this, but instead I'll just comment that it's always amusing when the Inqy pre-emptively turns off comments or pushes the commenting to its fully moderated system.
Making False Statements To Regulators Is A Crime?
That's crazy talk!
Federal agents on Friday arrested the chief executive officer of an Iowa-based brokerage firm that is missing more than $200 million in customer money and released the text of a suicide note in which he confesses to embezzling funds from customers for nearly two decades.
Russell Wasendorf, Sr., 64, made false statements to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission about the value of customer funds held by his company, Peregrine Financial Group, Inc., from 2010 until recently, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The Trouble With Sachs
I read the Sachs article in question as basically:
More generally, all this anti-Keynesian stuff is really so weird. Keynes got associated with "activist government," conservatives hate government, so conservatives decided Keynes was all wrong about everything and also, too, a communist. Or something.
But Keynesian demand management really just says there are times when things won't right themselves automatically in a timely fashion, that government should step in to boost demand. It isn't about stealing from the rich to buy Cadillacs for strapping young bucks, or just how many SUPERTRAINS should be built, it just says there are times when the government, using fiscal and/or monetary policy, can actually improve the economy by boosting demand. That this is even controversial is mindboggling.
Keynesians are stupid children who are not Very Serious At All
...
Word salad with vague suggestions about how one might go about building a pony.
More generally, all this anti-Keynesian stuff is really so weird. Keynes got associated with "activist government," conservatives hate government, so conservatives decided Keynes was all wrong about everything and also, too, a communist. Or something.
But Keynesian demand management really just says there are times when things won't right themselves automatically in a timely fashion, that government should step in to boost demand. It isn't about stealing from the rich to buy Cadillacs for strapping young bucks, or just how many SUPERTRAINS should be built, it just says there are times when the government, using fiscal and/or monetary policy, can actually improve the economy by boosting demand. That this is even controversial is mindboggling.
Even Better
Right now we don't even need to borrow for free, we can just print free money.
Not infinite amounts of it, but a significant amount.
Not infinite amounts of it, but a significant amount.
BRT Troubles
You can always downgrade the proposal to make it cheaper, and even after it's built you can make it worse by letting the cars in.
Free Money For The Rest Of Us
It's what should happen, but I'm sure it won't.
Free money is for rich people, sillies. The poors might spend it on junk food and beer, instead of caviar and champagne.
The Bank of England loves QE because it is a policy under its control. It opposes genuine reflation as possibly leading to runaway inflation – hardly Britain's top economic problem just now. But the governor himself is in denial. He appears genuinely to believe that QE is "putting money directly into the wider economy" and that "the one word we need to hang on to … is patience". He has brainwashed the Commons Treasury select committee to this effect. It is like watching a patient haemorrhaging blood on the operating table and telling him to wait for a new hospital.
If the government really wanted to inject cash into the economy, it would address the liquidity trap head-on. It would order the Bank of England to add, say, £1,000 to the current account of every adult citizen as a "people's bonus". Such an injection would not depend on Bank discretion. It would not await a government infrastructure project or a business wanting to invest. It would instantly transfuse between £30bn and £40bn of cash into the demand side of the economy.
This need have no impact on Osborne's borrowing targets or deficit, since it would be new money. The chancellor would declare the bonus "off-limits", an emergency stimulus to growth. It might push up some prices and suck in some imports. It might seem to reward the feckless as well as the thrifty. But it would do what the government claims it wants to do – that is, "inject money into the economy".
Free money is for rich people, sillies. The poors might spend it on junk food and beer, instead of caviar and champagne.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Heckuva Job
I could've created this omnishambles for, say, a mere 135 million pounds.
Guards told how, with 14 days to go until the Olympics opening ceremony, they had received no schedules, uniforms or training on x-ray machines. Others said they had been allocated to venues hundreds of miles from where they lived, been sent rotas intended for other employees, and offered shifts after they had failed G4S's own vetting.
...
G4S has got a £284m contract to provide 13,700 guards, but only has 4,000 in place. It says a further 9,000 are in the pipeline.
Beet Haters
They exist, and they're a mystery to me. People like what they like - no problem with that - but beets always seemed to be pretty inoffensive to me.
News Production
So awesome.
But what really sends the BS meter into the red zone is when you learn that the anecdotes are populated with business people with ties to lobbying groups that news organizations, for whatever reason, fail to disclose.
Take one of the Times’s main anecdotes, Drew Greenblatt, who owns a small manufacturing firm in Baltimore called Marlin Steel Wire and who gets his picture in the Times. This was his third NYT hit in three months. Here are Mr. Greenblatt’s other press hits in June: The NBC Nightly News, PBS Newshour (twice), NPR’s Morning Edition, The Hamilton Spectator. So far this year he’s also been on CNN Newsroom and Fox Business (four times), and in the Financial Times, Reuters, and the Associated Press, plus a number of smaller publications. Two years ago, Greenblatt and his company were the focus of a flattering 2,300 word Atlantic profile and a couple of WaPo profiles in 2001 and 2007. This guy is like the Greg Packer of small manufacturers.
Enablers
It'd be one thing - not right, but a different level of wrong - if they covered up one event and shooed him away. But they enabled him for years.
The investigation revealed "a decision by Spanier, Schultz, Paterno and Curley to allow Sandusky to retire in 1999, not as a suspected child predator, but as a valued member of the Penn State football legacy, with future 'visibility' at Penn State and ways 'to continue to work with young people through Penn State,' essentially granting him license to bring boys to campus facilities for “grooming” as targets for his assaults."
Once Everybody Is Destitute, The Economy Will Be Purified!
It's working!
(Reuters) - Greece's jobless rate scaled a new record high of 22.5 percent in April from a revised 22 percent in March, the country's statistics service ELSTAT said on Thursday, as a fifth year of recession continued to take its toll on the labour market.
Freehd
Can't read the full report as the server hamsters are on a break, but surprisingly doesn't sound like a whitewash.
Louis Freeh, head of the independent panel investigating Pennsylvania State University's role in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, said today the school's most senior leaders, including football coach Joe Paterno, showed "total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky's child victims."
Freeh made the statement in prepared remarks marked coincide with the release of the panel's report.
Nice Work
Everything about this event is going to be a disaster.
aka Wackenhut.
The military has been told it may need to provide an additional 3,500 troops to provide security during the Olympics amid fears the world's largest private security firm may not be able to provide enough trained staff in time.
Thousands of Army troops have been told to prepare for duties at Games sites and given "notice to move" orders – bringing the military presence at the Games to 17,000 to meet any shortfall from G4S, the company charged with providing security for the Games. G4S is contracted to provide 10,000 guards for the London games and is being paid £284m to do so.
aka Wackenhut.
Universal
Social Security and Medicare aren't welfare programs. It's crazy, from a policy perspective and from a political perspective, to frame them that way. And yet....
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Driving Is Hard Work
One thing about about being without a car for the last 8 years or so is that I've started to lose the driving instincts. It's no longer a second nature automatic activity. It requires concentration.
I don't think I'm a much worse driver - there's some benefit in knowing that you have to be engaged - but it's definitely become a more taxing activity.
I don't think I'm a much worse driver - there's some benefit in knowing that you have to be engaged - but it's definitely become a more taxing activity.
Entitlement
Can't know, but this is pretty believable. The motive is probably a bit different than suggested. It isn't "DON'T LET THE BLACK PEOPLE PLAY!" Instead, it's connected people upset that their precious flowers aren't getting enough glory.
It could be explicitly racial. Not denying the possibility. But I saw the "special kids must get the playing time" crap back when I was like 10 years old in Little League. I was crap at baseball then, so not resentful, but so were some of the special kids who got all the good positions and playing time.
Attorney Dennis Young, who is representing a high school basketball coach who was fired last month, told NBC10 that for ten years "the coach was told to make the team whiter."
It could be explicitly racial. Not denying the possibility. But I saw the "special kids must get the playing time" crap back when I was like 10 years old in Little League. I was crap at baseball then, so not resentful, but so were some of the special kids who got all the good positions and playing time.
When We're All Assholes
I tend to think there is a complex set of reasons we aren't all frauds and thieves. For whatever reason a lot of us like to think of ourselves as good people who wouldn't do "bad things." Fear of social disapproval. Fear of getting thrown in the pokey. I'm not sure - and don't even really care - what the dominant reason is, but I think it's reasonable to imagine they reinforce each other. Decrease the the chances of getting thrown in the pokey or minimize the likelihood of or consequences of social disapproval and we're more likely to do bad things.
And then we get to a bad equilibrium, one where it always pays to cheat, one where all transactions - personal, commercial, whatever - have an extra friction due to heightened "ripping me off" probability.
The Law and Economics Chicago crowd told us that companies were supposed to break the law if it benefited shareholders. Congrats, guys, we're living in the world you created.
And then we get to a bad equilibrium, one where it always pays to cheat, one where all transactions - personal, commercial, whatever - have an extra friction due to heightened "ripping me off" probability.
The Law and Economics Chicago crowd told us that companies were supposed to break the law if it benefited shareholders. Congrats, guys, we're living in the world you created.
Bring Back National Conscription As Soon As I'm Past The Draft Age
It is one of my personal pet peeves, but old people who call for drafting teenagers really really enrage me. For millions of reasons.
Though here I'll just limit my rage to the proposed non-military option of "teaching in low-income areas." Because what low-income areas need more than anything is untrained 18-year-olds being paid slave wages to teach their kids. Genius.
Assholes.
Though here I'll just limit my rage to the proposed non-military option of "teaching in low-income areas." Because what low-income areas need more than anything is untrained 18-year-olds being paid slave wages to teach their kids. Genius.
Assholes.
A Question A Reporter Should Ask Obama
Would you, the country, and justice have been better served if you had been arrested for cocaine and marijuana use?
Union Station Is Too Damn Small
HSR considerations aside, DC's Union Station is not configured to handle the volume of passengers it has. The waiting areas for passengers are like small airplane gate waiting areas, and those trains carry a few more passengers than planes do.
Not sure why they don't let people on the platforms to ease congestion, though there might be good reasons.
Not sure why they don't let people on the platforms to ease congestion, though there might be good reasons.
I Don't Even Know Who To Root For
Hopefully Christie just gives all of them some more free money.
The football franchises recently sued Triple Five, Inc., the Canadian-based company looking to revive the troubled former Xanadu site, arguing that a planned amusement and water park addition to the project would bring traffic to a halt in the Meadowlands Sports Complex on game days.
Cars
We all are probably quite a bit less than rational when it comes to our assessment of relative risk, but it's cars that kill people, not the metro...
Munis Are Made Of People
It isn't clear that the LIBOR rigging had any major impact on typical households directly, but it probably had a big impact on many municipalities.
Something to ponder: The ability to rig a rate like that is basically a license to print free money for yourself. And still they need bailouts.
Something to ponder: The ability to rig a rate like that is basically a license to print free money for yourself. And still they need bailouts.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Keep It All In The Mattress
Best place for it.
(Reuters) - Russell Wasendorf Sr., the sole owner and chairman of stricken futures broker Peregrine Financial Group, Inc., intercepted and forged bank documents for more than two years to cover up hundreds of millions of dollars in missing money, a person close to the situation told Reuters.
Off Their Game
The Republicans used to actually be good at this stuff. I think they had too many years of having it be way too easy. They could just throw any shit out there and the media would just run with it. That's still way more true than it should be, but a bit less true than it used to be.
Ridiculous Incompetent People
Osborne should apologize to the world for being the stupidest fucking person on the planet.
Pro-Some Businesses Climate
Yes, Republican governors who give your money to large corporations are, in some sense, pro-business.
Pennsylvania taxpayers will give high-end department-store operator Neiman Marcus Group close to $900,000 in grants and tax breaks for the company's planned $12 million, 200,000 sq ft warehouse in Jenkins Township, near Pittston, Luzerne County. In a statement Gov. Corbett said the chain will hire "at least 151."
Corbett credited the subsidy and the state's "pro-business climate" for Nieman Marcus' plan to build in the depressed former coal region.
An Evil Man
I do wish more people who are maybe a bit more respectable than I am would start using moral language to describe the reprehensible actions of Bernanke and pals. There's no possible analysis of the welfare tradeoffs of these policies which leads to any other conclusion than "mass unemployment is a small price to pay for keeping the rich fat and happy, or even fatter and happier."
Time to end our failed experiment in "independent" central banking.
Time to end our failed experiment in "independent" central banking.
Why Would They Do Anything Differently?
The people who caused the crisis are all still in charge. And they've learned that any time they're losing money the free money bazooka will be aimed at them. Moral hazard is just for people whose $10 extra in food stamps might lead them to continue living the life of luxurious funemployment.
They're going to keep playing the game as they've been playing it. It's working for them.
And, yes, the monsters in our media wrote a trend story on funemployment. Such things do not make me shed tears when I hear about job losses in journalism.
They're going to keep playing the game as they've been playing it. It's working for them.
And, yes, the monsters in our media wrote a trend story on funemployment. Such things do not make me shed tears when I hear about job losses in journalism.
The Worst Person In The World
That Rush Limbaugh is a horrible racist is not news or even especially important. That he's been the subject of countless fawning profiles over the years and members of Congress ask 'how high' when he says 'jump' is.
Deep Thought
All of these problems were caused by poor minorities who forced banks to lend them money.
Monday, July 09, 2012
Life On Mars
It works better as fish out of water social commentary than well-plotted scifi/fantasy show, but it's good fun.
The sequel, Ashes to Ashes, was more the reverse. Worked a bit better as scifi/fantasy, less well as social commentary, thought it doesn't seem to have had a US release.
The sequel, Ashes to Ashes, was more the reverse. Worked a bit better as scifi/fantasy, less well as social commentary, thought it doesn't seem to have had a US release.
On Repeat
I know I've said this before, but I think the point sometimes gets lost behind the econspeak. The austerians want to save economies by making most people in them poorer. No this does not make sense.
I Am V.I.P.
Just hitting this again, but these are the worst people in the world.
EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. — A woman in a blue chiffon dress poked her head out of a black Range Rover here on Sunday afternoon and yelled to an aide to Mitt Romney. “Is there a V.I.P. entrance? We are V.I.P.”
Aided And Abetted
Remember that when Democrats did try to point out that Republicans were indeed trying to destroy Medicare, the Posties had a hissy fit and awarded them eleventy zillion Pinnnochios, or whatever.
Changes
One thing I think wonky people tend to ignore is transition costs. My particular version of utopia, if built from scratch, might have a particular policy mix, but as awesome as my utopia might be, getting from here to there wouldn't necessarily be that simple. Even really horrible policies can be so costly and complicated to change, in theory and especially in practice, that perhaps it's best to leave them in place.
One example is the state monopoly on wine and liquor in my state. I see no good reason for the state to own that business. The businesses aren't very well run, either from a "making lots of money" perspective or "making customers happy" perspective. But having said that, I'm pretty tepid about privatizing it. There are existing stakeholders, people who have made careers out of working in the liquor system, whose lives would be overturned. A revenue stream the state counts would be curtailed or made more unpredictable, at least in the near term.
Sure in theory I could design my utopian transition to a liquor sales privatization. Existing stakeholders could be compensated, one way or another. Taxes and license fees could be set up to maintain revenues for the state. The system could designed with sufficient competition to ensure that it would be good for customers and not simply a handout to well-connected individuals. However, on balance I tend to favor maintaining the current system on the grounds that transitioning would be costly and what replaces it likely won't be that much better for most of us.
One example is the state monopoly on wine and liquor in my state. I see no good reason for the state to own that business. The businesses aren't very well run, either from a "making lots of money" perspective or "making customers happy" perspective. But having said that, I'm pretty tepid about privatizing it. There are existing stakeholders, people who have made careers out of working in the liquor system, whose lives would be overturned. A revenue stream the state counts would be curtailed or made more unpredictable, at least in the near term.
Sure in theory I could design my utopian transition to a liquor sales privatization. Existing stakeholders could be compensated, one way or another. Taxes and license fees could be set up to maintain revenues for the state. The system could designed with sufficient competition to ensure that it would be good for customers and not simply a handout to well-connected individuals. However, on balance I tend to favor maintaining the current system on the grounds that transitioning would be costly and what replaces it likely won't be that much better for most of us.
These Are Novel Ideas That I Have Never Heard Before
Rich assholes in France think cutting taxes and firing more people is the way to improve the economy.
They are very serious.
They are very serious.
Occupy The World
It's all ours, bitches.
In pre-dawn darkness, a Toyota Land Cruiser skidded off a bridge in North Africa in the spring, plunging into the Niger River. When rescuers arrived, they found the bodies of three U.S. Army commandos — alongside three dead women.
What the men were doing in the impoverished country of Mali, and why they were still there a month after the United States suspended military relations with its government, is at the crux of a mystery that officials have not fully explained even 10 weeks later.
Dirty Old Town
Brutal.
IRISH PEOPLE’S finances are continuing to deteriorate with the number who say they have less than €25 to spend each week once all essential bills have been paid increasing sharply over the last three months, according to research published by the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU). What’s Left tracker survey of the year found that 1.82 million adults say they have less than €100 a month to spend after bills are paid. This compares with a figure of 1.64 million it recorded in April.I'm not a Very Smart Economist, but I'm a bit flummoxed as to how people with less than 25 euro a week are supposed to stimulate demand. Maybe they should be fired more.
Sunday, July 08, 2012
The Worst People In The World
Some portraits of Yurpean royals from certain eras illustrate a rather obvious fact: they had a wee inbreeding problem.
As far as I know genetics isn't our problem, but the stupidity and sloth of the hereditary wealth crowd is.
Except the members of that crowd who give generous donations to Eschaton World Industries. They, of course, are awesome.
As far as I know genetics isn't our problem, but the stupidity and sloth of the hereditary wealth crowd is.
Except the members of that crowd who give generous donations to Eschaton World Industries. They, of course, are awesome.
I Doubt It
But I guess a boy can dream.
Over the past week damning evidence has emerged, in documents detailing a settlement between Barclays and regulators in America and Britain, that employees at the bank and at several other unnamed banks tried to rig the number time and again over a period of at least five years. And worse is likely to emerge. Investigations by regulators in several countries, including Canada, America, Japan, the EU, Switzerland and Britain, are looking into allegations that LIBOR and similar rates were rigged by large numbers of banks. Corporations and lawyers, too, are examining whether they can sue Barclays or other banks for harm they have suffered. That could cost the banking industry tens of billions of dollars. “This is the banking industry’s tobacco moment,” says the chief executive of a multinational bank, referring to the lawsuits and settlements that cost America’s tobacco industry more than $200 billion in 1998. “It’s that big,” he says.
That's Where The Money Is
Once upon a time I thought - and maybe was even correct - that the whole charter/voucher/school choice movement was a genuine, but wrong, ideological approach to improving schools. Now it's obvious that it's just a way of opening doors for people to steal taxpayer money and kickback some of it (legally, generally) to politicians.
Don't Say No To Nice Things
HSR in California might cost $100 billion over many many years. This is a very big number, is very scary, is honestly probably more than it should cost, and is, most importantly, a mere drop in the giant piss bucket of government spending.
As Chandrasekaran observes, it costs $1m to keep one American service member in Afghanistan for a year. The annual bill for the war last year was more than $100bn.
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