Rock on.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Sexy Time
Drudge is pushing a SENATOR SEX SCANDAL.
There are 100 of them. Put your guesses in comments.
There are 100 of them. Put your guesses in comments.
Two Second Movie Review
I think I liked Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter more than most, but it wasn't very good.
Because I Have So Few Opportunities
I watched Chris Christie evolve from being his usual mostly pointlessly dickish self before the storm fully hit to being someone who seemed to be generally concerned with trying to solve the massive problem he was now faced with.
That doesn't mean I love the guy, but I do think he was, unlike many in his party, actually seeing that it was his job to do stuff.
That doesn't mean I love the guy, but I do think he was, unlike many in his party, actually seeing that it was his job to do stuff.
Guardians Of Our Discourse
We all know this, but sometimes it's worth repeating. For years our elite media has promoted bigots and misogynists as our moral betters and ethical standard bearers.
Heckuva job.
Heckuva job.
Gibberish
While our liberal media coddled and adored them, the truth was that the Tea Party never actually had anything to be angry about. Obama didn't take their guns, or raise their taxes, or give free Cadillacs to strapping young bucks. He did continue to be black, so there's that I guess. They couldn't be mad at the Wall Street bailout, because that's who was funding them. The only thing that kinda sorta made ideological sense was the auto bailout. So that became their thing.
Not Urban Theme Parks
One thing I've noticed over the years from some people in this country is the tendency to see places like Manhattan as urban theme parks, just places for tourists to frolic. People live and work there. A lot of people live and work there.
My city is far less transit dependent than NYC, but when we had a transit strike it was a BFD.
My city is far less transit dependent than NYC, but when we had a transit strike it was a BFD.
Get Creative
If the subways are going to be out for awhile, New York is going to have to get a bit radical and a bit creative. No expert on NYC roadways and bridges, so this is in the category of suggestions to provoke thinking, but converting some roads and bridges to full time bus-only lanes might be necessary.
Hellhole
Buses are running. And here in Manhattan there's a lot you can walk that you might not normally walk, with the trains running. But getting in from Brooklyn, Queens or the Bronx to the places where people work in Manhattan, well, there are express buses, but I don't know anybody who rides them. Presumably the subways that travel over bridges rather than through tunnels will be up and running first, but that still leaves a big transit gap. (ICYMI the tunnels underneath the East River were flooded with corrosive salt water.)
I've wondered how local retail opened. The checker at my closest grocery store said that yesterday her manager picked her up, and Monday her boyfriend dropped her off, coming from 50-60 blocks uptown. So, in a pinch, cars in the urban hellhole.
Changing subjects, it's really funny seeing local news people say that the tunnels will drain or the water will recede. Eventually there's a correction, when the guy in their ear reminds them that the tunnels are watertight, so, um, no drains.
I've wondered how local retail opened. The checker at my closest grocery store said that yesterday her manager picked her up, and Monday her boyfriend dropped her off, coming from 50-60 blocks uptown. So, in a pinch, cars in the urban hellhole.
Changing subjects, it's really funny seeing local news people say that the tunnels will drain or the water will recede. Eventually there's a correction, when the guy in their ear reminds them that the tunnels are watertight, so, um, no drains.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Lucky Me
I was somewhat amused by my own mild panic at the thought that I'd lose power and/or internets due to the storm, thinking through just how and how long I'd cope with such things (computer(s) battery life, tethering cell phone battery life, etc.) That's in part because I run this sucky blog and feel some responsibility to keep it going, but also just that such things are what we're used to. Don't think the idea of a power/cable outage 15 years ago would have been such a big deal.
But lucky me. No problems. Sorry for those who are having them. And obviously for some the problems are much greater than the horror of lack of internet.
But lucky me. No problems. Sorry for those who are having them. And obviously for some the problems are much greater than the horror of lack of internet.
Tuesday Night
The MTA is mostly self-insured, with a bit of reinsurance.
I'm not sure where the money is going to come from.
I'm not sure where the money is going to come from.
No Substitute
The New York subway has 5 million average daily trips.
The LIRR gets about 350,000 per day during the week.
NJT, which is mostly but not entirely about getting people into NYC, gets close to a million riders.
Metro North gets about 300,000.
PATH gets about 250,000.
There's no way that city can function without a functioning rail system.
The LIRR gets about 350,000 per day during the week.
NJT, which is mostly but not entirely about getting people into NYC, gets close to a million riders.
Metro North gets about 300,000.
PATH gets about 250,000.
There's no way that city can function without a functioning rail system.
The Big Money
If we weren't ruled by the worst people in the world, there'd be an immediate an massive dontcallitastimulus relief bill about 5 minutes from being on the president's desk which would, among other things, give immense amount of money to the MTA to fix and renew the subway.
New York can't really function without the mass transit system working. I'm not sure if the Galtian Overlords who profit from that city understand that.
New York can't really function without the mass transit system working. I'm not sure if the Galtian Overlords who profit from that city understand that.
Making Obvious Point Because Stupid
Some big problems require massive collective action that only government can legitimately provide.
derp
derp
All Praise Bipartisanship
When, after the election, no massive relief bill passes, it will be Obummer's fault for being mean to Jamie Dimon.
Or something. Tom Friedman will explain it.
Or something. Tom Friedman will explain it.
No Options
I was in London once on Christmas. I didn't realize until then that the entire public transportation system shuts down on that day. No tube, no bus, nothing. This didn't matter. Nothing else was open either. It was one day.
But New York without the subway...people really can't get to work. They don't have cars.
But New York without the subway...people really can't get to work. They don't have cars.
Privatizing FEMA
Of all the stupid ideas, that's one of the stupidest. It's similar to when Britain privatized their rail infrastructure, gave the company lots of free money, and then they had absolutely no incentive to spend it on upgrading the lines. FEMA privatization would be like that. Give a private entity free money, and their incentive would be to... keep all the free money. Not, you know, help out people in need.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Crazy
Looks like my urban hellhole mostly will be spared, but the Jersey Shore and NYC are shaping up to be disasters. Subway tunnels flooding. Oy.
Feeling The News At You
I don't even read him because I can just have a good guess by glancing at a few state polls, but Very Serious Journalists vs. Nate Silver has been the highlight of election 2012 for me.
Remember That Time Bill Kristol Got It Wrong And Everyone Shunned Him
And I'm not even talking about the wrongness which led to hundreds of thousands of deaths.
10-31-08
10-31-08
Bill Kristol knocked his own paper, the New York Times, on "The Daily Show" last night, and repeated his prediction that John McCain will win the White House on Tuesday.
The Cool Kids All Got Together
The "all real journalists agree that Nate Silver is big doodyhead" thing has been hilarious to watch.
They'd rather call Karl. He's got the math.
They'd rather call Karl. He's got the math.
Incoherent
Why would Obama delay the jobs number when it's in his power to just make up really good ones?
Open Or Closed
There's a weird genre on the twitter of people chastising local businesses for staying open during the storm. I don't think there's any right or wrong here, though certainly employers shouldn't be assholes and force people who are worried about a safe commute to come to work. But, you know, people work because they want/need money. Tip well.
Some Countries Break Brains
It was amazing how fast coverage of Japan went from "ZOMG THEY'RE TAKING OVER THE COUNTRY" to "THEY'RE A DOOMED ECONOMIC DISASTER" which is what it's been like for the last dozen years or so.
Seems like they're doing pretty well.
Seems like they're doing pretty well.
Choices
In some alternative universe, the liberal media spent every day asking "why does Mitt Romney refuse to release his tax returns?"
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Incoming
Times like this I do not like the fact that the state government is run by people who don't believe in competent government.
Sunday Bobbleheads
Face the Nation has AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH JOHN MCCAIN MUST CREDIT FACE THE NATION, Rahmbo, Haley Barbour, Granholm. Prince Priapus, Axelrod.
This Week has disgraced former Speaker Gingrich and "I Will Cut You" Cutter.
Meet the Press has Kasich, Hickenlooper, and Scott Walker.
Document the atrocities!
This Week has disgraced former Speaker Gingrich and "I Will Cut You" Cutter.
Meet the Press has Kasich, Hickenlooper, and Scott Walker.
Document the atrocities!
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Oligarchs
Stoller on the progressive case for voting against Obama.
We need to build a different model of politics, one in which people who want a different society are willing to actually bargain and back up their threats, rather than just aesthetically argue for shifts around the margin. The good news is that the changes we need to make are entirely doable. It will cost about $100 trillion over 20 years to move our world to an entirely sustainable energy system, and the net worth of the global top 1 percent is $103 trillion. We can do this. And the moments to let us make the changes we need are coming. There is endless good we can do, if enough of us are willing to show the courage that exists within every human being instead of the malevolence and desire for conformity that also exists within every heart.Update: Scott Lemieux replies. (via John Cole at Balloon Juice.)
Systems that can’t go on, don’t. The political elites, as much as they kick the can down the road, know this. The question we need to ask ourselves is, do we?
Dumb Distinctions
No, being RE-ELECTED with a popular vote/electoral vote split does not have some meaning distinct from being elected that way.
That's not "hyperpartisanship," that's what Republicans do every time a Democrat wins election. The "not my president" bumper stickers were everywhere in 1993.
Am I the only one who lived through this stuff?
Every modern president to be re-elected — Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Clinton, George W. Bush — has gotten a bigger share of the vote in their second bid for office than their first, and with it, a chance to claim a mandate.
A win in the electoral college that is not accompanied by one in the popular vote casts a shadow over the president and his ability to govern.
If Obama is re-elected that way, “the Republican base will be screaming that Romney should be president, and Obama doesn’t represent the country,” McKinnon predicted. “It’s going to encourage more hyperpartisanship.”
That's not "hyperpartisanship," that's what Republicans do every time a Democrat wins election. The "not my president" bumper stickers were everywhere in 1993.
Am I the only one who lived through this stuff?
Exceptionalism
Just so you know, US health care systems suck.
Americans spend $2.64 per person for healthcare for each purchasing power equivalent dollar spent by the 33 other countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The OECD data shows the U.S. spends $8,233 per capita compared with an average of $3,118 in the other 33 countries.
Friday, October 26, 2012
We Could Build That
Maybe we should.
WASHINGTON — The United States is facing a year or more without crucial satellites that provide invaluable data for predicting storm tracks, a result of years of mismanagement, underfunding and delays in launching replacements, according to several recent official reviews.
Because When Else
Will I have a chance to link approvingly to something on Fox News.
It's a big fun movie, not the heavy pretentious pseudo-intellectual thing some critics have made it out to be. The themes are fairly obvious and not groundbreaking, and I highly doubt the directors thought otherwise.
It's a big fun movie, not the heavy pretentious pseudo-intellectual thing some critics have made it out to be. The themes are fairly obvious and not groundbreaking, and I highly doubt the directors thought otherwise.
It's All About Tax Cuts For Rich People
I know we all know this, but it's still worth the regular restatement. Nobody cares about the deficit. The greatest threat to our economy was the deficit, until we had a surplus, and then suddenly the greatest threat to the economy was the surplus. It's mostly not about spending cuts, though Republicans do want poor people to suffer a bit more, overall we're not talking about much money (doesn't take a very big cut to make poor people suffer more). It's just about cutting taxes for rich people. The end.
Blahs
What's "amazing" (horrifying) is that while old white dudes like Sununu instantly jump to the idea that the main thing which drives African-American voting habits (congratulations, Senator Steele) is racial solidarity, but would freak if you suggested white people are more likely to vote for white people.
Just Business
Sometimes I feel like a bit of a sucker for not devoting my life to locking kids up for profit.
We do love our children in America. It's all about the children here. Yes sir.
(ht)
JACKSON, Miss. — Authorities in east Mississippi run a “school-to-prison pipeline” that locks up students for infractions like flatulence or wearing the wrong color socks, a policy that mainly affects black and disabled children, the U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday in a federal lawsuit.
We do love our children in America. It's all about the children here. Yes sir.
(ht)
Not So Good
2% is still not recovery growth, just weaker than should be but better than awful. Just crawling forward.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Let's Put The Fun Back In Funemployment!!!
No I don't know how to do that, other than giving away lots of free money. I just occasionally suffer stroke-inducing levels of rage thinking back to the days of funemployment.
Never
As Digby regularly points out, the Republican logic is that both parties agree on spending cuts so let's do the spending cuts. Since we disagree on revenue increases, we won't do those. Compromise!
So the answer is never.
So the answer is never.
Here's What I'm Going To Do For You
As I've said before, I used to be a bit more optimistic about the government giving goodies to older people, as older people vote and the baby boomers are hitting that age. I was worried about privatization, as that's something which could've been successfully marketed long enough to ram it through, but otherwise I thought things would be fine.
Dean Baker offers an explanation for why the hell the Democrats aren't running on a plan to double or triple Social Security benefits. Might be true. Still, they'd better consider doing it or the other party might get the idea to do it. Running on a plan to do it doesn't mean actually doing it, of course, but....
Dean Baker offers an explanation for why the hell the Democrats aren't running on a plan to double or triple Social Security benefits. Might be true. Still, they'd better consider doing it or the other party might get the idea to do it. Running on a plan to do it doesn't mean actually doing it, of course, but....
All Is Quiet
Occurs to me that four years ago my state was part of the big battle, with activists coming in on buses and nonstop advertising.
Doesn't feel that way now.
Doesn't feel that way now.
The Big Grift
There's the occasional faux-shock about how much money is spent on politics, especially presidential politics. I'm not especially disturbed by the numbers. Hiring a large full time nationwide staff for a couple of years costs a lot of money, as does all forms of advertising. We can be concerned about the implications of that, but the numbers themselves don't really bother me.
But left out of the discussion, usually, is that campaigns help make a nontrivial number of people quite wealthy. Sadly, not me!
But left out of the discussion, usually, is that campaigns help make a nontrivial number of people quite wealthy. Sadly, not me!
Trying To Destroy The World
The rich screw it all up, the poor are made to suffer, and generally our elite press cheer it on.
None of this has anything to do with helping Greece, it's only about helping the people who lent money to Greece. And in the end it won't even help them. Needless suffering because austerity.
Life in Greece has been turned on its head since the debt crisis took hold. But in few areas has the change been more striking than in health care. Until recently, Greece had a typical European health system, with employers and individuals contributing to a fund that with government assistance financed universal care. People who lost their jobs received health care and unemployment benefits for a year, but were still treated by hospitals if they could not afford to pay even after the benefits expired.
Things changed in July 2011, when Greece signed a supplemental loan agreement with international lenders to ward off financial collapse. Now, as stipulated in the deal, Greeks must pay all costs out of pocket after their benefits expire.
None of this has anything to do with helping Greece, it's only about helping the people who lent money to Greece. And in the end it won't even help them. Needless suffering because austerity.
Gambling Our Way To Prosperity
We're doomed.
City Council President Darrell Clark: “Jobs, jobs, jobs. This is what it’s all about. [A second casino] is the most significant economic opportunity for the city of Philadelphia.”
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
The Sociamalist Countries Are Doing Just Fine
The most "socialist" countries in Europe are actually doing quite well. I won't argue that's because of their socialism, but it certainly isn't driving Europe's problems.
Not A Parent So I Can't Understand
But one of my minor pet peeves is when supposedly fairly progressive dudes play American Sitcom Dad and "joke" that they're going to lock their daughters up until they're 21, or make the horrible pain face at the thought of their little darling actually going out on a date with a boy.
Really don't do it.
Really don't do it.
Gambling Our Way To Prosperity
On one hand, if there's going to be another casino (mandated by state law), near the convention center is the right place for it. On the other hand, I look forward to bailing the project out (not).
But How Does It Make Me Feel
Obviously comparing consensual sex with rape is a tad, well, insane, but what gets me is that it's all about his feefees.
Daughter doing what she wants to do, or daughter being raped. Makes him feel the same, so it's similar, you see. From a father's perspective.
Daughter doing what she wants to do, or daughter being raped. Makes him feel the same, so it's similar, you see. From a father's perspective.
Mysteries
Why do conservatives love fetuses and at least the idea of babies but seem to generally hate people?
We Must Lower Taxes So We Can Raise Them
However they sell this, it's just "cut taxes on rich people so we can increase them for everybody else."
That's what it is.
Also, too, they don't care about the deficit.
That's what it is.
Also, too, they don't care about the deficit.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Tuesday Mini Movie Review
Cloud Atlas is good. Certainly not surprised by varying opinions of the movie - won't speak to everyone - but don't listen to the haters. They're wrong. People calling it overly earnest, or self-important, or overly simplistic aren't quite seeing it. It isn't any of those things.
The Race Is Tightening!!!
I understand that's one exciting storyline, but "the black guy with a funny Mooslim name is probably going to win this election despite a shitty economy" is a pretty good one too.
The Local Connection
I had forgotten that the new NYT head honcho was director general of the BBC when the Savile investigation was pulled.
Fortunately There's A Plan For That
Austerity!
The people who run the world are determined to destroy it.
Spain’s economy contracted for a fifth quarter, adding pressure on Premier Mariano Rajoy to seek more European aid even as the euro area’s fourth-largest economy met a bill-sales target,
The people who run the world are determined to destroy it.
Priorities
The NYPD really needs to stop this bullshit.
NEW YORK (AP) - A paid informant for the New York Police Department's intelligence unit was under orders to "bait" Muslims into saying inflammatory things as he lived a double life, snapping pictures inside mosques and collecting the names of innocent people attending study groups on Islam, he told The Associated Press.
Shamiur Rahman, a 19-year-old American of Bengali descent who has now denounced his work as an informant, said police told him to embrace a strategy called "create and capture." He said it involved creating a conversation about jihad or terrorism, then capturing the response to send to the NYPD. For his work, he earned as much as $1,000 a month and goodwill from the police after a string of minor marijuana arrests.
It's The Parking And Setbacks, Stupid
I think there's a bit too much focus on the relationship between building heights and density, in that density implies "skyscrapers." But in the more residential areas of Philly not filled with blight and abandoned buildings, there's a decent amount of density despite the fact that much of it was constructed with a 35' height limit. But it was also constructed without any setbacks and with very little off street parking taking up space.
Personally I'm fine with taller buildings, and there are definitely places (near transit) where there should be taller buildings, but you can pack quite a few people in without them.
And the point of packing people in is that if you do you create walkable neighborhoods with sufficient demand for a variety of local retail.
Personally I'm fine with taller buildings, and there are definitely places (near transit) where there should be taller buildings, but you can pack quite a few people in without them.
And the point of packing people in is that if you do you create walkable neighborhoods with sufficient demand for a variety of local retail.
The World
Last night we learned that "foreign" means "China" and "areas where dark and scary Muslims roam."
I'm reasonably sure there's a bit more to it than that.
I'm reasonably sure there's a bit more to it than that.
Bush Is America
That's what you stupid liberals don't understand. Bush is the embodiment of the country, the walking talking personification of America.
Monday, October 22, 2012
The Debate: The Debating
Two weeks from tomorrow and this will all be over.
Don't worry kids. Campaign 2016 starts on Nov. 7.
Don't worry kids. Campaign 2016 starts on Nov. 7.
No Longer Hellish Or Cheap
I can see the logic of residency requirements for certain kinds of city workers (cops, for example), but with urban hellhole real estate no longer cheap (in some urban hellholes such as DC) it's going to be a pretty big burden.
Flying Death Robots
I don't write much about the stuff Glenn Greenwald tends to focus on anymore, not because I'm trying to be a good little Obot, but because I find it all to be completely depressing and hopeless. Under a Republican administration you can expect some half-hearted objection to the National Security State and Empire from Democrats, and under a Democratic president there's seemingly no way to do anything about any of it. Most Dems - elected and voters - are happy to defer to Obama. And pretty soon Mittens might control the flying death robots.
The Most Trusted Name In News
I've probably been a bit more supportive of CNN over the years than they deserved, but they became a deeply broken institution once they decided to become the Tea Party Network.
And this.
And this.
The Big Tent
I guess we're getting that big right wing Christian truce.
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association removed language labeling Mormonism a “cult” from its website after the famed preacher met with Republican nominee Mitt Romney last week and pledged to help his presidential campaign.
Stink
With all this talk of grand bargains and gangs of 8, while the Village media equates Seriousness with inflicting pain, we need to raise a stink with our elected officials. The CAF has put up a tool for doing so.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
The New Tire Swing
Oh jeebus.
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Mitt Romney will be participating in his own political version of Monday Night Football when he faces off against President Obama in their final debate of the campaign cycle. But on Sunday morning, Mr. Romney took a break from debate preparation to make a stop at a gridiron of a different sort — a flag football beach face-off between members of the news media and members of Mr. Romney’s staff.
Sunday Night
And while I realize it'll appeal to only 3 people, those 3 people should see this, so I will re-run it.
Destruction
It won't be easy, but Greece needs to get out of the Euro and tell their Galtian Overlords to fuck off.
Sunday Bobbleheads
Face the Nation has Rubio, Kevin NotJohn Madden, Stephanie "I Will Fuck Your Shit Up" Cutter, Nooners, Sangers, Kleiners, Dickensoners
This Week has that asshole Rahm, Rubio, Debbie W-S, America's Pastor Ralph Reed, Van HitlerStalinPolPot Jones, Greta Van, Matty Dowd.
Meet the Press has AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH RUBIO MUST CREDIT MEET THE PRESS, America's sweetheart Rob Portman, Zombie Dee Dee Myers, Zombie Mike Murphy, The Moustache of Understanding, Helene Cooper.
Document l'atrocities!
This Week has that asshole Rahm, Rubio, Debbie W-S, America's Pastor Ralph Reed, Van HitlerStalinPolPot Jones, Greta Van, Matty Dowd.
Meet the Press has AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH RUBIO MUST CREDIT MEET THE PRESS, America's sweetheart Rob Portman, Zombie Dee Dee Myers, Zombie Mike Murphy, The Moustache of Understanding, Helene Cooper.
Document l'atrocities!
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Build Bigger Places Too
I don't claim to be an expert on NYC housing stock, but I'm guessing critics have a pretty good point here. More housing should be built where it can be, but really across the board size wise. Small cheap (for NYC) studios are fine for single people, but unless more larger units are built, the prices for family-sized places will remain out of reach.
The Galtian Overlords Don't Know What They're Doing
Some do, perhaps, and they're good at lining their own pockets, short term, but the economy needs more demand. More demand means more stuff being bought. More stuff being bought means more money for Galtian Overlords.
These people claim to believe that all will be solved once the confidence fairy appears.
These people claim to believe that all will be solved once the confidence fairy appears.
Light It All On Fire
Yes, certain central banks should just be lighting purchased debt on fire. Or just financing government spending directly. Or mailing million dollar checks to me so I can spend it.
Why?
Kevin Baker has a piece in the October Harpers about how voting, especially for President, has become ineffectual. I'd link, but paywall (idiots). The basic argument is candidates, starting with Reagan, haven't done what they said they would. Not kinda sorta, but at all.
Avedon talks about voting strategies in this kind of environment.
Avedon talks about voting strategies in this kind of environment.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Friday Night Book Recommendation
A lot of people have read The Handmaid's Tale, but everything else (well, I think there are a couple I haven't yet read) she's written is worth reading too. I'd recommend Alias Grace or The Blind Assassin.
Explain It All To Me
I'm sure the Galtian Overlords who run the NHL know exactly what they're doing, but it's a mystery to me how canceling an increasing number of games is going to do much for the sport going forward. Are they really on the optimal strategy to squeeze out every cent they can, or do they just hate that the people who work for a living get some of those cents.
How Politics Works
I'm sure it won't happen, but there's more chance of Osborne having to leave his job over The Great Train Snobbery than because he's destroyed the economy.
The Worst Person In The World
George Osborne.
According to reports posted online by the ITV journalist Rachel Townsend, Osborne boarded the 15.11 train to London's Euston station at Wilmslow in Cheshire on Friday afternoon and went directly to sit in a first-class carriage despite only having paid the standard fare.
The chancellor's aide approached a ticket collector and "said Osborne couldn't possibly" sit in standard class, Townsend reported.
She said: "George Osborne got on the train with aides at Wilmslow and went straight to first class. Then his aide approached the ticket collector right next to me. He said he is travelling with George and he has a standard ticket but can he remain in first class? The guard said no. The aide said Osborne couldn't possibly sit in standard class. The guard replied saying if he wants to stay it's £160. The aide said he couldn't pay and he couldn't really sit in standard. The guard refused to budge. The guard went on gathering tickets and later told me Osborne had agreed to cough up the £160."
"Older Equipment"
The newly installed rape-i-scan machines are being removed from major airports.
So much money.
The Transportation Security Administration has been quietly removing its X-ray body scanners from major airports over the last few weeks and replacing them with machines that radiation experts believe are safer.
The TSA says it made the decision not because of safety concerns but to speed up checkpoints at busier airports. It means, though, that far fewer passengers will be exposed to radiation because the X-ray scanners are being moved to smaller airports.
So much money.
There Is No Such Thing As A One Hour Plane Journey
Not with all the added hassles.
Reliable 4 hour service for a 284 mile journey is certainly competitive with both driving and the realities of air travel.
Work to upgrade the track began in 2010 and has included the installation of new premium rail and concrete ties as well as the realignment of curves to support higher speeds. Safer gates and new signals were installed at some highway crossings.
Transportation officials expect that after another three years of upgrades, the $1.5 billion in improvements can shave about an hour off the 284-mile journey between Chicago and St. Louis, which now takes about 5 1/2 hours. Future plans aim to shrink the time to under four hours.
Reliable 4 hour service for a 284 mile journey is certainly competitive with both driving and the realities of air travel.
Bang
Blue America identifies races where your contributions really matter. Digby summarizes the work they've been doing this cycle. The Great Orange Satan's endorsements are also worth a look.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Lame
I really want to lose this Grand Bargain messaging, because it's a Grand Bargain among Villagers who want to "tweak" our very successful, very popular social insurance systems--no bargain at all, actually. But dday says they're at least not going to screw us (I was gonna say "cave," but they're doing what they want, IMO) until after the inauguration.
Me, I think they're too disorganized to deal with this in the lame duck.
Me, I think they're too disorganized to deal with this in the lame duck.
Creative Corruption
I've long been puzzled why we can't steer ourselves towards a better future by overpaying oil companies to build solar and windmills and overpaying war contractors to build SUPERTRAINS. Hell, they can put front mounted missiles on them if they want.
Existing stakeholders have immense political power and we obviously can't wish them away, but can't we bribe them to do good instead of evil?
Existing stakeholders have immense political power and we obviously can't wish them away, but can't we bribe them to do good instead of evil?
Nice Trick
The evangelical Protestants and right wing Catholics managed to come to a truce, and it'll be interesting to see if they can put Mormons in the big tent too.
To nonbelievers, religious beliefs, if not practices, are all basically the same. Cults can differ from religions by their degree of coercion and degree to which they're purely financial scams, and how organized religions operate in practice certainly differ, but to the extent that "cult" just means "religion I think is false" it's a dumb distinction.
To nonbelievers, religious beliefs, if not practices, are all basically the same. Cults can differ from religions by their degree of coercion and degree to which they're purely financial scams, and how organized religions operate in practice certainly differ, but to the extent that "cult" just means "religion I think is false" it's a dumb distinction.
"Morality" Is For Other People
Almost every public scold is just a grifter, making money by spreading shame and guilt.
All The Best "Scandals" Are A Little Bit Stupid
I think a key element to any lasting fauxtrage story is that we keep talking about it, and one reason we keep talking about it is that it's completely stupid and we can't believe we have to keep pointing out how stupid it is.
Goodbye Newsweek Print Edition
I remember years ago talking to someone who'd been in the journalism business for awhile about "death of print" issues. And he started fretting about losing Time and Newsweek. I couldn't imagine why. I'm not dancing on its grave, but I really couldn't think of what either of those magazines contributed positively to our culture or to "journalism."
Anyway, national journalism of various kinds is here to stay. It's the local stuff we should worry about.
Anyway, national journalism of various kinds is here to stay. It's the local stuff we should worry about.
No Brainer
So much of our public policy is so obviously bad (ethanol subsidies, the war machine, tobacco subsidies) that it screams corruption. Obviously good public policy, like a transaction tax on stock trades, never gets mentioned.
(High frequency trading) is computer-generated front running. It ought to be illegal, but the SEC is too timid to kill it. Yes, front running is already illegal, and yes, the SEC has slapped a few wrists about preferential access to order data. But the tiny fines show that the SEC cannot be trusted to put the interests of investors ahead of those of traders and exchanges.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Women's Issues Mostly Aren't Just That
Obummer was pretty good with this.
I think increasingly people get that "women's issues" largely aren't just that, that discrimination, lack of access to contraception and proper health care, and screwed up gendered societal messages and expectations affect us all.
She didn't complain. That's not what you did in that generation. And this is one of the reasons why one of the first — the first bill I signed was something called the Lily Ledbetter bill. And it's named after this amazing woman who had been doing the same job as a man for years, found out that she was getting paid less, and the Supreme Court said that she couldn't bring suit because she should have found about it earlier, whereas she had no way of finding out about it. So we fixed that. And that's an example of the kind of advocacy that we need, because women are increasingly the breadwinners in the family. This is not just a women's issue, this is a family issue, this is a middle-class issue, and that's why we've got to fight for it.
I think increasingly people get that "women's issues" largely aren't just that, that discrimination, lack of access to contraception and proper health care, and screwed up gendered societal messages and expectations affect us all.
I Hate Those Butts And I Cannot Lie
Not sure what appropriate enforcement is, but I am often quite surprised by the willingness of some smokers, people who would never litter otherwise, to just chuck their cigarettes everywhere.
Be careful the next time you put out your cigarette in West Chester. If you don't find an ashtray that butt could cost you 100 bucks.
West Chester Borough Council is holding a public debate Wednesday night to consider adopting an ordinance that would establish a $100 minimum fine for "discarding in public places any cigarette butts or other tobacco materials."
Oy Just Don't
Gavin & Stacy was an endearing funny show with a bit of a quirky subversive streak written by people who understood the regional differences they were playing with. This won't work well.
The Fox remake is the third attempt to create a US version of the show. Jane Tranter, head of BBC Worldwide said the first script would be delivered “by Thanksgiving” and a decision over to push on with the show would be made early next year.
American network NBC, which took on The Office, was the first to buy the rights in 2008. At the time, the idea was to make Gavin from New Jersey and Stacey from South Carolina. The idea fell apart, and a year later it was picked up by ABC, but that also collapsed.
Michael Bloomberg Has A Sad
The things that move him.
(New York, NY – WNYC) With the company that owns the Yankee Stadium parking system staring down bankruptcy, Mayor Bloomberg called the situation “sad,” and said his administration is “trying to help them.”
...
“There just wasn’t the business there that the owners, who made the investment, thought that there was going to be,” the mayor said in answer to a question posed by a WNYC reporter. “If the owners of the parking garage can’t make money, that’s sad. We’ve got to find a way to help them.”
What's That All About Then
I admit I haven't really been able to follow the Right's evolving Breitbartian narrative on Libya, which seems to be about the fact that Obama didn't refer to the attackers as the evil league of evil forcefully and often enough.
What's weird is I imagine there are legitimate issues here, but the campaign is wedded to whatever stupid shit the right wing loonies are saying that day, presumably because those right wing loonies are running the campaign.
What's weird is I imagine there are legitimate issues here, but the campaign is wedded to whatever stupid shit the right wing loonies are saying that day, presumably because those right wing loonies are running the campaign.
Binders
Jokes aside, the binders of women comment was basically the core of all of the mostly mythical affirmative action in this country. It's about recognizing that if you're a product of a good old white boy network, it's a good idea to make the effort to read those binders, to make the extra effort to look at qualified women and minorities.
This isn't a comment on what actually happened when Mitt was in office, just pointing out that if you embrace that story you embrace affirmative action, because aside from a teeny bit of minority business contracting and civil service hiring provisions, that's what affirmative action actually means in this country.
This isn't a comment on what actually happened when Mitt was in office, just pointing out that if you embrace that story you embrace affirmative action, because aside from a teeny bit of minority business contracting and civil service hiring provisions, that's what affirmative action actually means in this country.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Thread The Third
I wasn't thrilled about the "undecided voter town hall" thing, but these questions have been decent.
He Didn't Even Have To Fake It
Marriages break up, but I'm impressed that D'Souza didn't feel the need to hide the fact that he was sharing a hotel room with his girlfriend.
All will be forgiven, you sinful liberals.
All will be forgiven, you sinful liberals.
When There's Room Enough For The Cars There Won't Be Room For Anything Else
Then nobody will go there and the problem will be solved.
Seriously, where exactly is the parking supposed to go here? The restaurant has reserved spots, but they're ONE THOUSAND FEET AWAY.
Seriously, where exactly is the parking supposed to go here? The restaurant has reserved spots, but they're ONE THOUSAND FEET AWAY.
Gracious
Funny.
Children's play equipment...with lasers.
The city's decision makers have turned to a blogger to help forge partnerships with this young group of followers, and to lead them in the direction of poor decision making. Gracious streets have become clogged with bike lanes, bus shelters are lit up with advertising, and national parkland is threatened with children's play equipment. David's followers, Oboe, Goldfish and Hogwash, to name a few, express themselves by routinely mocking anyone with differing opinions. And, even the City Paper's Housing Complex newbie, Aaron Wiener, has adopted his predecessor's disrespectful tone.
The city may awake one day and discover that the Millennials are no longer here. They've moved on to the sounds of a different piper, faraway places, and fun and games. They really didn't care about the future of Washington, they cared about good times and easy living for themselves.
Children's play equipment...with lasers.
Things That Enrage Only Me
I don't know what proportion of people use their curb cuts and garages to actually park a car (subtract one public space, add one private), but most of the time when I'm passing by an open garage it's used as storage.
This makes me wonder sometimes: why is the city in the business of paving and maintaining three lanes of street when only one of them is actually moving cars? In fact, many people in my neighborhood have a driveway or a garage (and zoning requires on-site parking for any new construction) but they still choose to park in the street, presumably so they can use their garage for something else.
Next obvious question: Why should local zoning require on-site parking when hardly any one is using their on-site parking for parking?
Change
Hopefully our insane Cuba policies change, too.
The Cuban government has announced it will no longer require citizens to apply for an exit visa, eliminating a much-loathed bureaucratic procedure that has prevented many from travelling overseas.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Super Productive
The real problem isn't lack of productivity growth, it's that workers haven't gotten any of the gains. We should all be quite a bit richer than we are.
Democracy Sucks
The people, they want the crazy things!
A strong majority of New Jerseyans wants to raise the state's minimum wage and lock in automatic cost-of-living increases, according to The Inquirer New Jersey poll, which interviewed 604 likely voters earlier this month.
Random Completely Obvious Thought
If we think everyone should have quality health care/insurance, we should tax them and pay for it.
As the kids of my generation used to say... DOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
As the kids of my generation used to say... DOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Mysteries Of The Internets
Why are (legal) streaming video providers wedded to the inserted video advertising model? I can just click over to another window and ignore them. Static or rotating graphic advertising (with links) placed around the video box would make a lot more sense. Maybe I'm wrong, but this just seems to be "it's teevee so this is what we do on the teevee because teevee." Or something.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
We Have The Worst Elites In History
And their offspring are worse.
Starting to think Galapagos was prescient.
Jason Thompson, the son of former Governor and Wisconson Senate candidate Tommy Thompson, speaking this morning at a brunch attended RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said that “we have the opportunity to send President Obama back to Chicago — or Kenya.” A woman in attendance then chimed in “we are taking donations for that Kenya trip.”
Starting to think Galapagos was prescient.
Austerity Bites
Years later and we're all still shocked that contractionary policy is contractionary.
Strains
Workers are only going to share in the benefits of the pie rising higher if we have prolonged periods of full employment or the government starts doing much more redistribution than it does now.
The Measure Of Man
10 years of doing this, and explaining what I do to strangers doesn't get any better.
Sunday Bobbleheads
This Week has America's sexiest man, Rob Portman, Beau the Biden, and NEWT!!!
Meet the Press has Bob McDonnell, Jennifer "The Shiv" Granholm, and the mayor of Atlanta.
Face the Nation has Issa, Cummings, and Lindsey Graham.
Because if it's Sunday...
Meet the Press has Bob McDonnell, Jennifer "The Shiv" Granholm, and the mayor of Atlanta.
Face the Nation has Issa, Cummings, and Lindsey Graham.
Because if it's Sunday...
Self-Regulating
It's all the rage. The centrists who rule us believe we can rely on powerful private interests to just do the right thing. That's a central theme in Neil Barofsky's Bailout--that bank CEOs had reputations that they would want to protect and so could be trusted not to further abuse the public good.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Can We Get Some Value-Added Synergy
Good luck with that.
I actually don't think hard rent control (though we really should be looking to enact soft rent control in some places) is a good policy, but neither is "destroying the lives of retired old ladies" especially good policy.
The new rent law casts aside protections that date from the early 1900s, and are seen as one of the reasons for Portugal’s economic decay. It’s all part of a plan to jettison a way of life that has been handcuffed to the past, holding back the dynamism needed to put the nation on the path of growth. The measure, long delayed due to its political toxicity, also illustrates how Europe’s financial crisis is snatching away old certainties and expectations — in this case, over something as basic as having a roof over your head.
The change in rent laws was one of the steps demanded in return for the financial lifeline provided by foreign lenders. They identified rent controls as one of the handicaps keeping Portugal mired in stagnation. Similarly, their insistence on labor reforms is taking away long-standing entitlements, such as jobs for life, which choked development, consigning Portugal to low growth and mounting debt. These are precisely the kinds of measures that have triggered massive protests across Europe in recent years, raising questions about the viability of the European project.
I actually don't think hard rent control (though we really should be looking to enact soft rent control in some places) is a good policy, but neither is "destroying the lives of retired old ladies" especially good policy.
Maybe We Could Spend Some Money On This
Just walked by this, it's a total disaster.
The whole area is a lake now.
...looks like they've stopped the bleeding, but surprisingly big chunks of the city are without water. I still do for now.
The Philadelphia Fire Department is on scene of a 48-inch water main break at 3rd and Walnut streets. Water is rushing out onto the streets at least two feet into the air, and authorities have blocked off the street.
The whole area is a lake now.
...looks like they've stopped the bleeding, but surprisingly big chunks of the city are without water. I still do for now.
Everybody's Working For The Weekend
Feeling like it's an "I got nothing to say" kinda weekend, too, so light blogging.
Friday, October 12, 2012
We Reward The World's Worst People
Sometimes it's hard to comprehend just how horrible various actors in the drug war-, prison-, and military-industrial complexes must be to be willing to push for death and misery around the world without worrying their beautiful minds at all.
American Law Enforcement
Fuck yeah.
They thought there was a meth lab. There wasn't. They didn't know how the flash grenade worked. It had a delay.
A 12-year-old girl suffered burns to one side of her body when a flash grenade went off next to her as a police SWAT team raided a West End home Tuesday morning.
They thought there was a meth lab. There wasn't. They didn't know how the flash grenade worked. It had a delay.
Stupid Or Cunning
It's possible this was an ingenius land grab - we need the land for parking! oops, parking not necessary we'll build a hotel instead - but more likely it's just stupidity.
The problem is that rich important people who influence and make policy decisions are drivers. Normal people would think that this is New York, the stadium is on top of 8 thousand rail lines, and relatively few people are actually going to drive to a baseball stadium. Decisions about how much parking is needed are made by people who live in a world where people drive everywhere.
That's the world most people in this country live in, of course, but it isn't the world that most New Yorkers live in.
The problem is that rich important people who influence and make policy decisions are drivers. Normal people would think that this is New York, the stadium is on top of 8 thousand rail lines, and relatively few people are actually going to drive to a baseball stadium. Decisions about how much parking is needed are made by people who live in a world where people drive everywhere.
That's the world most people in this country live in, of course, but it isn't the world that most New Yorkers live in.
Whose Advantage
We'll see how the remaining debates go, but it's interesting how now that issues that were (perhaps wrongly) for years seen as things Democrats had to be on defense about are seen more as strengths, they mostly disappear as issues. Immigration, Teh Gay Marriage, Abortion. Yes abortion made an appearance, but the question wasn't about abortion, it was about how Joe Biden could defy his church.
Oddly Missing
Since no one seems to be saying it this year for some reason... The almost only job of the Vice President is to take over the presidency if the president quits or dies.
All About The Mens
It was a travesty that the one question about ladyparts issues was about how the mens could, in good conscience, consider letting women have legal autonomy.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Debate
So it's Joe The Biden versus Paul Ryan Gosling tonight. Expectations! Predictions! What does it all mean? How's it playing for average Americans?
Walking Back From The Brink
I would like to spend the lame duck session not being obsessively worried about truly horrible things coming out of Congress and being signed by the president.
Let all the tax cuts expire, let the sequestration begin, and then propose a budget, not a compromise.
Let all the tax cuts expire, let the sequestration begin, and then propose a budget, not a compromise.
So Weird
It's always a bit jarring when I see Jennifer Roback Morse doing her hate the gays schtick, as I remember her when she was an economist.
China's Doing Some Stuff
I don't think it's easy to put China's economic policies into our standard left/right boxes. I do think that's why there's limited engagement in our public discourse about what they are doing. Obviously, along some dimensions, it's working insanely well.
China may become the world’s wealthiest country by household assets after the U.S. in five years as the nation’s middle-class consumers grow richer, Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) forecast.
The nation will add $18 trillion in household wealth by 2017, taking its total to $38 trillion, according to the bank’s global wealth report today. That would surpass Japan’s $35 trillion, and be less than half of the U.S.’s $89 trillion.
Cliff?
Not so much, actually.
It’s a slope; there’s no big need to fear it, at least if it forces policymakers into an undesirable deal.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Ref Working
When liberals do it - even legitimately - they just ignore us.
They don't embrace everything conservatives try to put out there, but they do always acknowledge it as something worthy of discussion.
They don't embrace everything conservatives try to put out there, but they do always acknowledge it as something worthy of discussion.
Derailed
Hopefully Schumer did just manage to destroy a grand bargain.
One thing which isn't said enough is that Republicans don't really care about cutting Social Security and Medicare. What they care about is giving the money to their rich pals, either by stealing the money for tax cuts or through privatization schemes. They're not going to trade anything they care about for a reduction in the Social Security COLA, though the Dems will probably do that anyway.
One thing which isn't said enough is that Republicans don't really care about cutting Social Security and Medicare. What they care about is giving the money to their rich pals, either by stealing the money for tax cuts or through privatization schemes. They're not going to trade anything they care about for a reduction in the Social Security COLA, though the Dems will probably do that anyway.
There Is No Genuine Principled Opposition To Abortion
I'm sure there are people who are more or less likely to have an abortion, or to encourage their partner to do so, but my belief is that there's almost nobody who wouldn't have an abortion under certain circumstances. Pro-choice for me, but not for thee, is the consensus.
Consistency
Conservatives will always support tax cuts that benefit wealthy people. The reasons may change, but the policy never does.
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
Blue
We'll probably always be willing to vote for Republicans for statewide offices, but I think PA is off the non-landslide Red State/Swing State list.
That Daily Caller story cited a "knowledgeable campaign source" as saying Romney was "diverting substantial resources" from Pennsylvania to Ohio. The conservative web site noted that Romney spoke of winning Pennsylvania when he visited Philadelphia and Wayne last week.
A Romney campaign source, who would only speak if not identified, told PhillyClout that the campaign is shifting five of 64 staffers to Ohio to help organize efforts with early voting in that state. The source emphasized that all of Romney's "victory center" offices in Pennsylvania remain open. The source characterized the staff shift as temporary but could not say when those people would return to Pennsylvania from Ohio.
Thanks!
Thanks to all who contributed during pledge week (or any other time). I'm rather bad at expressing gratitude, but I am truly grateful to have supportive readers who stick with me here. I know that on the "bad jobs" scale, blogging isn't up there with coal mining or anything, so I do my best not to complain, but it is actually a surprisingly stressful thing to do at times in ways I imagine people who don't do it can't comprehend. Hit publish, and the clock starts ticking for the post. Reader support (and I don't just mean financial) makes it all worthwhile.
For The Visitors
I haven't been to all of these, but it's a pretty good list of where you should eat in Philly.
The Scam
I know this is not news to people who read this blog, but the point is that people who claim to care the most about the deficit - and who our ridiculous media take at their word as being "deficit hawks" - don't care at all about the deficit. 90% of what they care about is cutting taxes on rich people, and 10% of what they care about is making poor and middle class people suffer as much as possible. Deficit hawks are narcissistic sadists who want tax cuts for themselves and suffering for everybody else.
Chuck Schumer Is NOT Going To Reduce The Deficit By Cutting Taxes For Rich People
Gotta love the framing.
Stupid Chuck Schumer! Cutting taxes for rich people is the bipartisan deficit-reduction plan!!! Don't ruin it man!!!
WASHINGTON — Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, the Senate’s third-ranking Democrat, threw cold water Tuesday on what had been an emerging consensus for a bipartisan deficit- reduction plan — an overhaul of the tax code that lowers top income tax rates but raises more revenue. Mr. Schumer’s position greatly complicates efforts to win bipartisan support for a deal before January, when the “fiscal cliff” of tax increases and automatic spending cuts goes into effect.
Stupid Chuck Schumer! Cutting taxes for rich people is the bipartisan deficit-reduction plan!!! Don't ruin it man!!!
Monday, October 08, 2012
Do It Right
I am not as confident as I would like to be that my local transit authority is going to install a new fare system correctly. For years they've over-emphasized the importance of allowing people to hit the turnstiles with their debit and credit cards, because, you know, ... not sure. I don't really want to give a subway turnstile access to my bank account without any kind of additional verification (PIN, etc.). It's not that I think allowing that to work will ruin it, it's that they seemingly aren't thinking about the right things.
Just put the card machines everywhere. That's what people will want.
Just put the card machines everywhere. That's what people will want.
The Rich Shouldn't Have To Pay Any Taxes At All
Conservatives have decided that the flat tax is for wimps, it's time to just remove all taxation on the wealthy.
There is, though, one last twist to the story. Dan Davies, of Crooked Timber, has been tweeting about the other implication of offering up to £50,000 shares tax free: if you're thinking of starting up a private firm, it could let you get away with not paying much tax at all.
The founders of a company rarely need much employee protection; and since they are also the ones who choose how much the shares are "worth", it might be extremely easy to end up owning large proportions of a new company with permanent tax-free status. A similar dodge was used by Mitt Romney; his retirement savings, which could only accept $450,000 in nominal shares during his years at Bain Capital, are now worth over $21m. When you say how much a company is worth, limits don't count for much.
Osborne's crafted a plan which, at a stroke, gives employers the ability to dodge tax on their companies, while dodging the responsibilities they have for towards their employees. It's almost impressive.
The Sunday Shows
To me, the problem with the Sunday shows isn't that they suck, it's that so many moderately engaged people don't understand that they suck. They've bought into the idea that what Very Serious People Who Care About Politics Do is watch these shows, that the proper thing for an engaged citizen to do is to turn on Dancing Dave's Clown Circus and absorb the massive amounts of wisdom it generates.
Lead
We all know that over the years people have had a lot of exposure to lead. We understand the effect on individuals. I'm not sure we've though through the larger impact on us all.
Sunday, October 07, 2012
Maybe The Lib Dems Need To Get Acquainted With A Certain Running Gag In This Comic Strip Known As The Peanuts
Hilarious.
George Osborne seals deal for £10bn welfare cuts
Conservatives claim Liberal Democrats have agreed to plan provided that rich are targeted next
Format
I've long been puzzled by the thinking behind the Sunday "roundtable," which groups together experts (occasionally), reporters, and political hacks as if they're all the same.
Happy Hour
Dennis Hartley, over at Digby'swrote a review of Looper. Sounds like a movie I may actually go to see in a theater.
Pledge Week
Day #6! Think I missed yesterday. Thanks for all who have contributed! For anyone who can afford it, please consider a modest gift.
No tote bags for you.
No tote bags for you.
Suburban Tribalism
The evolution of Republican antipathy towards cities has been interesting. It used to be mostly racial, but now I can "amuse" myself reading people on the internets simultaneously decry cities as places where the "animals" live (how they label African-Americans) and the playgrounds of rich entitled white liberals.
Sunday Bobbleheads
Face the Nation has some baseball dudes, Axelrod, and a roundtable consisting of conservative Pastor Gerson, movement conservative warrior John Fund, and notionally "neutral" journalists Norah O'Donnell and John Dickerson.
This Week has Gibbs, Ed Gillespie, Carville, Falafel Bill, Matalin, Krgthulu, Nooners, Jonathan Karl.
Meet the Press has Kindergarten Cop, NEWT!, Gibbs, Praise FSM she speaks for Democrats Hilary Rosen, Mike Murphy, Chuck Toddler.
Document the atrocities! (I know, I already did).
Saturday, October 06, 2012
Thread
Just in case.
But as long as I'm here, I may as well mention that The Sideshow has moved to a new address.
People Like Eating And Drinking Outside
Plaza Mayor in Madrid.
Big street festival in center city now. Food, booze, music, various vendors. The usual kind of thing. All good, but we should build more spaces that allow people to eat and drink outside on a regular basis without having to close off several city blocks, and relax restrictions on commercial activity and adult beverage consumption in some parks. It's something people like to do, and there actually are few places they can do it regularly in this country.
Friday, October 05, 2012
The Worst Rich People In The World
I think we're at the stage where they're pissed off that the rest of us have the nerve to keep existing.
A Black Hole Of Stupid
Just to add to the point of the post below, our Galtian Overlords also consume a steady diet of the Wall Street Journal and Fox News.
They're all fucking idiots.
They're all fucking idiots.
Welch
Perhaps today is the day a few more people in elite journalism discover that most of our rich assholes are, actually, bug fuck nuts and not authorities on anything.
The Puke Funnel
I think the media is in some ways better than it used to be, but the ability of conservatives to insert any random bullshit into the daily narrative remains.
Both Sides Don't Always Do It
I don't remember liberals accusing the Bushies of cooking the books. That would have been stupid because if they could have cooked the books they would have adjusted the numbers for both surveys. The issue back then was that the household survey was much more positive than the payroll report, and conservatives spent a lot of time arguing that the household survey was "correct" and the payroll survey was not.
Medicare For All
One thing I haven't seen anybody talk about is the fact that Obama somewhat eloquently made the case for Medicare for all during the debate. Those insurance companies are too horrible to inflict upon seniors. And the rest of us, also, too.
Game Changers
So was the debate a game changer? It's hard to say at this point of dynamic flux -- clearly, strategic as well as synergistic interfaces need to be optimally calibrated in regards to long-term throughput. But, in short, Team Romney maximally inter-utilized a thoroughgoing, dynamic, outcomes-oriented fratistically multi-gromulated mecha-coagulantive Action Agenda, and so forth.
Thursday, October 04, 2012
Perception
Strib:
I've never quite been able to explain it well, but not driving everywhere really has changed my relationship with my surroundings. When I was a driver, locations were discrete points, and the spaces in between essentially didn't exist. That's much more true for highway driving, but true to a lesser extent for all kinds of roads. It makes all places seem like islands, instead of being connected.
Driving is isolating. By walking everywhere in my old city, I got to know different neighborhoods. As soon as a new business went in along a familiar route, I knew about it -- usually before it opened -- and I made a point to stop in. City rambles became one of my favorite pastimes. While riding the T, I saw people from all walks of life going about their days, and I got into conversations with people I could meet only on public transit. (I've got a great story about a neuroscientist I met while commuting to work one morning.) Most important, by stopping in for coffee most mornings at the shop on the way to the T stop, I got to know my neighbors. The walk home late at night went from being a source of trepidation to an opportunity to catch up with friends I ran into along the way. We had nothing more in common than that we lived in the same neighborhood. And we met only because we went to the same coffee shop on the walk to the T.
I've never quite been able to explain it well, but not driving everywhere really has changed my relationship with my surroundings. When I was a driver, locations were discrete points, and the spaces in between essentially didn't exist. That's much more true for highway driving, but true to a lesser extent for all kinds of roads. It makes all places seem like islands, instead of being connected.
Debate Report
Delayed so as not to contribute to the theater criticism.
Basically, Romney's a big liar and Obama needs to have a better defense of liberalism, even if he doesn't believe it. I don't think Lehrer was very good, but I didn't think he was as bad as some did. Just letting them talk has merits as a moderator strategy. While a bit feeble, his attempts to actually tease out genuine differences between the candidates aimed in the right direction.
Obama has plenty of room to highlight contrasts without wrapping his arms around the corpse of Marx. It shouldn't be that hard.
Basically, Romney's a big liar and Obama needs to have a better defense of liberalism, even if he doesn't believe it. I don't think Lehrer was very good, but I didn't think he was as bad as some did. Just letting them talk has merits as a moderator strategy. While a bit feeble, his attempts to actually tease out genuine differences between the candidates aimed in the right direction.
Obama has plenty of room to highlight contrasts without wrapping his arms around the corpse of Marx. It shouldn't be that hard.
The Masters Of The Universe Are Indispensable And Not Responsible For Anything
Jamie Dimon can't possibly be accountable for anything, he's got a company to run for pete's sake.
What Was That Movie Called Again
I saw it a couple of years ago and I can't remember what it was called. It was a surreal David Lynch flick and it was about how our national celebrity media cheered on the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor of California while everything went to hell.
Pretty good, but scary.
Pretty good, but scary.
Exciting Day 3 Of Exciting Pledge Week Here At Exciting Eschaton
Boy is it exciting!
Consider a wee gift if you can afford it.
Consider a wee gift if you can afford it.
One Reason Horrible People Gain Power
In my time at various higher education institutions, I observed that a great number of faculty members liked the idea of an asshole asskicker gaining power. The simple reason was that obviously there were people - other people of course - who needed to have their asses kicked. Of course the asskicker would not be kicking my ass, because my ass does not need to be kicked, but those other people, well, they deserve a good asskicking and who better to kick ass than a quality asskicker.
Needless to say it usually doesn't work out as planned. Put assholes in power and they're assholes to just about everyone.
Needless to say it usually doesn't work out as planned. Put assholes in power and they're assholes to just about everyone.
Simple Solutions To Tragic Problems
Just my regular reminder that we have a very simple solution to our biggest problem, that people have no jobs and no money.
Helicopter Ben just needs to go door to door handing out bags of cash.
It really is that simple.
Helicopter Ben just needs to go door to door handing out bags of cash.
It really is that simple.
Domestic
All the questions last night were about thedeficitjobsandhealthcare.
Not unimportant, but not exactly comprehensive either.
Not unimportant, but not exactly comprehensive either.
Skills
I'm all for paying good money to qualified civil servants, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say the issue here was...corruption.
Yelping
Best Philly bun bo hue.... Cafe Diem.
Best Philly Pho... Pho 75
Best Hu Tieu Ca... Viet Huong.
Best banh mi... Cafe Nhu Y.
Best Philly Pho... Pho 75
Best Hu Tieu Ca... Viet Huong.
Best banh mi... Cafe Nhu Y.
B-S
Just so we're clear, Bowles-Simpson, (endorsed, again, by the President last night) depends on large Social Security cuts, and a redesign of the Social Security system from a social insurance program into a welfare program. SocialSecurityWorks analysis (pdf).
It looks what we have on offer is tough, realistic, painful austerity vs voodoo economics austerity. (Few know that Arthur Laffer was the original underpants gnome.)
It looks what we have on offer is tough, realistic, painful austerity vs voodoo economics austerity. (Few know that Arthur Laffer was the original underpants gnome.)
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
Theater
I don't have a problem with the concept of the debates, but the problem is too many of our pundits emphasize the purely theatrical elements and downplay any substance, on the off chance there is some. I get that the theater matters, but people who know better should try to convince us that other things should be more important.
The Real Racists
I think we've reached the point that if a black person would even dare to mention that slavery or state-enforced segregation were "bad" that the conservative media would freak out and decree that the person was trying to start a race war because racist.
Recovery Would Be A Good Idea
There are few in this country who "like" being on whatever modest public assistance our country has to offer, depending on your circumstances, because the modest public assistance is extremely modest. It's tough to wean yourself off such things, even if you want to, because the transition from "extremely poor" to "job with benefits so I can get health insurance for my kids" is rare, and so in order to remain eligible for Medicaid, the one bit of public assistance people probably do "like," people are trapped in poverty. Though their other choice, if they have it, is "slightly less poor but with no health insurance," which isn't really less poor at all.
Recovery would be good, but until we have it the moochers and the parasites have few options.
Recovery would be good, but until we have it the moochers and the parasites have few options.
In Case You Were Unaware
Pledge week here at the little blue blog. Help keep my blogs mighty and powerful!
Onward
UK rail privatization went from being a corrupt plan to transfer taxpayer money to rich people which had the added benefit of not working at all to being a corrupt plan to transfer taxpayer money to rich people which kinda-sorta-works-well-enough if at too high ticket prices. But still totally corrupt!
Flop
Yesterday's stupidity is a reminder that team D couldn't pull off something like that. There couldn't be a "zomg video is coming!!!" post on daily kos which would cause the entire media-industrial complex to spend the day focused on the impending "news."
Even though twitter killed him, Zombie Matt Drudge still rules their world.
Even though twitter killed him, Zombie Matt Drudge still rules their world.
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
Blackity Black Don't Come Back
I see the whitey tape is a video of a black man speaking to black people.
Impeach!
Impeach!
Stay Classy, Rusty
As always.
But this is the subtext of most conservative narratives about Obama. It's what the teleprompter stuff is about. It's what demands for him to release school transcripts are about. Obama is a stupid affirmative action case who had everything given to him.
But this is the subtext of most conservative narratives about Obama. It's what the teleprompter stuff is about. It's what demands for him to release school transcripts are about. Obama is a stupid affirmative action case who had everything given to him.
Divine
Won't hold my breath for this, but hopefully that developer does actually manage to revive the Divine Lorraine.
For Those West Coasters Who Missed It
It's the very exciting fall fundraising BlogostravaganzaWEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, which is all very exciting. NPR without the totebags. Don't want to turn anybody into a totebagger.
Consider a wee gift if your budget allows.
Consider a wee gift if your budget allows.
More Crazy Ideas
After I move you all to Manhattan I'm going to make us more like Sweden.
...adding, I tried to be careful to not suggest are couples are heterosexual, or that all parents are coupled. Not sure that was completely successful.
...adding, I tried to be careful to not suggest are couples are heterosexual, or that all parents are coupled. Not sure that was completely successful.