Government spying doesn't mean there aren't bad guys in cyberspace.
via Bruce Schneier. The second post (as of now) is also good. It discusses how security theater makes things better sometimes. A neighborhood that feels safer even if it really isn't sorta is.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
The Worst Person On The Internet
Because I've never been interested in reading the worst gossip site about the worst people in the country, it was only fairly recently that I'd realized that Betsy Rothstein is probably the worst person on this or any other internet. Still when I saw that she'd made some sort of racist Asian joke, before my currently crappy wifi allowed me to see just what the "joke" was, I thought to myself I'd title my post "Mi So Horny" to point out just how inevitably horrible and yet shockingly unwitty the joke (likely) was. Silly me. It was a Mi So Horny joke!
She so funny.
She so funny.
Apparently I Was Kidnapped By A Mongoose
Been busy with some things the last few days. Fun things? Horrible things? You will likely never know, dear reader.
More normal blogging resuming soon.
More normal blogging resuming soon.
Jobs
Actual government report comes out Friday. ADP estimate of private sector job growth is +200K which we're all supposed to cheer, but still isn't recovery good.
Pay The Traffic Ticket
And those who run the criminal enterprise will continue to do so in good standing.
Trust
As with using vaccination programs to obtain "intelligence," using private information on public networks to pursue "terrorists" has predictably damaging results.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Good Luck Explaining This Stuff To The Kids
None of the 90s scandals made any sense at all even at the time, unless there was something nefarious about losing money on a land deal or you were pretty sure Hillary Clinton had her friend murdered. Still it wouldn't surprise me if the NYT brings the Whitewater band back together. What's Jeff Gerth up to these days?
The Mena drugs came from...Benghazi. Pass it on.
The Mena drugs came from...Benghazi. Pass it on.
Afternoon Thread
Our friend, NYMary, of Power Pop fame, is having her long awaited book released mid-August. Boys Don't Lie: A History of SHOES can be pre-ordered at the link. I've heard a rumor that Steve Simels wrote the forward and that it is quite amusing. What a way to spend a summer afternoon. I'm really looking forward to it.
The Sick Olympics
Uh, sorry to interrupt. I just can't get this picture out of my head.
That would be a photo of a young Russian man being brutalized by a couple of thugs. Because he's gay.
Which is apparently a thing that happens.
If you look at this picture and say to yourself, "gosh, I can sure enjoy watching a sporting event held in a nation where that sort of horror is openly tolerated," then, fuck you.
That could be your kid. Your brother.
The United States must NOT participate in any Olympic games held in Russia. Full stop.
That would be a photo of a young Russian man being brutalized by a couple of thugs. Because he's gay.
Which is apparently a thing that happens.
If you look at this picture and say to yourself, "gosh, I can sure enjoy watching a sporting event held in a nation where that sort of horror is openly tolerated," then, fuck you.
That could be your kid. Your brother.
The United States must NOT participate in any Olympic games held in Russia. Full stop.
Let's Try This One Again
Pretty sure the way to do a negotiation is to say "this is what I want, what will it take to get it from you?"
If Obama proposes something it's instantly toxic to Republicans. They can't just accept it.
If Obama proposes something it's instantly toxic to Republicans. They can't just accept it.
Radicals
What digby said.
And here's Ezra.
The Village and the Democratic leadership really is embarked on a radical restructuring campaign, to gut the social insurance programs, lower wage rates and establish long-term partnerships between powerful private interests and powerful public sector agencies.
Doing this is really unpopular, and so can't be brought directly to a vote--hence the Gangs, and the Commissions, the classified trade talks, and the terrifying debt crises and, sadly, the 60 vote Senate. None of this has worked so far.
But that doesn't mean they won't keep trying.
And here's Ezra.
The Village and the Democratic leadership really is embarked on a radical restructuring campaign, to gut the social insurance programs, lower wage rates and establish long-term partnerships between powerful private interests and powerful public sector agencies.
Doing this is really unpopular, and so can't be brought directly to a vote--hence the Gangs, and the Commissions, the classified trade talks, and the terrifying debt crises and, sadly, the 60 vote Senate. None of this has worked so far.
But that doesn't mean they won't keep trying.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Monday Crass Commercialism
Nick Jaina has a new CD so you should probably buy it.
Nick Jaina-High Beams from Jason Leonard on Vimeo.
Accountability
That word does not mean what you would obviously like the rest of us to think it means.
Emails obtained by The Associated Press show Bennett and his staff scrambled last fall to ensure influential donor Christel DeHaan's school received an "A," despite poor test scores in algebra that initially earned it a "C."
"They need to understand that anything less than an A for Christel House compromises all of our accountability work," Bennett wrote in a Sept. 12 email to then-chief of staff Heather Neal, who is now Gov. Mike Pence's chief lobbyist.
They'll All Have Their Moment
I've done my best to block out the memories, but I do remember how basically every single Republican primary challenger in 2012 had a frontrunner moment, either in the actually polling or just being declared as such by the media.
I'm sure that in 2016 anyone who is willing to go full wingnut will get a lot of attention. Whether that person gets the nod, or the wingnut who snarls just a little less does, I have no idea.
I'm sure that in 2016 anyone who is willing to go full wingnut will get a lot of attention. Whether that person gets the nod, or the wingnut who snarls just a little less does, I have no idea.
All Sprawled Out
I've been to a couple lesser developed countries over the years and it was quite obvious to me that in these places a tremendous barrier to economic mobility was the lack of any kind of decent transit system. They primarily urbanized during the age of the automobile, and what infrastructure money they had was spent on "modern" roads. But in places where wages are such that "average" people can't possibly manage to purchase and maintain an automobile, those people are pretty out of luck. And automobile-centric development makes things worse, spreading things out and making decent transit more difficult and expensive to implement.
Increasingly, it's a problem here too. Arguably the problem isn't sprawl, but low wages, but given the low wages the sprawl is a problem.
Increasingly, it's a problem here too. Arguably the problem isn't sprawl, but low wages, but given the low wages the sprawl is a problem.
CoT
Translation. And exegesis.
From the latter:
From the latter:
So we have unrest in Egypt, an oil rig on fire, more serious accusations about the NSA, an unprecedented vote to defund an NSA program, and a major President address on the economy, and the [Sunday] shows are obsessed with some sexual texts sent by a former Congressman who is almost certainly not going to be elected Mayor of New York or anything else
Well, This Is Exciting
Our own NY Mary of PowerPop will be having her book, Boys Don't Lie:A History of Shoes, published mid August. It can be pre-ordered at the link. For extra excitement, the foreword was written by Steve Simels. While I'm not a particular fan of power pop, I am quite interested rock history generally and the whole culture of the rock movement. The book should be well worth reading for that alone. Order a copy and enjoy!
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Risk and Safety
The point of this isn't that urban hellholes rule, it's that people greatly overestimate the degree of one kind of risk (violent crime) and greatly underestimate another (automobile injuries).
"Stranger danger" most likely isn't going to kill your kids, but cars might.
"Stranger danger" most likely isn't going to kill your kids, but cars might.
Clap Louder
As was the case here for awhile, all UK politicians are in the Tinkerbell phase of economic recovery. As long as everyone says how awesome everything is, then everything is awesome.
Welcome to Recovery Summer, UK.
Welcome to Recovery Summer, UK.
Sunday Crass Commercialism By Grapthar's Hammer
I've rewatched Galaxy Quest a couple of times over the past few years. It stops short of being brilliant, but I think it's a much more clever movie than critics at the time of the release gave it credit for. I think it might have been a bit before its time. We're all Star Trek nerds now. We weren't all then.
Well Okay Then
Um.
More clearly than he did in three speeches on the economy last week — the next is scheduled for Tuesday in Chattanooga, Tenn. — Mr. Obama in the interview called for an end to the emphasis on budget austerity that Republicans ushered in when they captured control of the House in November 2010.
The priority, he said, should be spending for infrastructure, education, clean energy, science, research and other domestic initiatives of the sort he twice campaigned on.
“I want to make sure that all of us in Washington are investing as much time, as much energy, as much debate on how we grow the economy and grow the middle class as we’ve spent over the last two to three years arguing about how we reduce the deficits,” Mr. Obama said. He called for a shift “away from what I think has been a damaging framework in Washington.”
Get In On That
It continues to puzzle my why entrenched sucking-on-the-government-teat monopolists fail to understand that it's incredibly easy to leverage their existing monopoly and associated power to influence policy in order to take over whatever the next big thing is.
XXVIII
David Waldman's weekly #gunFAIL compilation of firearm mishaps.
Apologies to David for missing the last couple of weeks. Do follow @KagroX on the Twitter. Hilarious!
Apologies to David for missing the last couple of weeks. Do follow @KagroX on the Twitter. Hilarious!
Saturday, July 27, 2013
But Why?
I've never had any idea why people got it in their heads that being able to pay for stuff with your cell phone was some sort of awesome idea. What problem does it solve? Is it more efficient? More secure? More convenient? What?
They do sell iPhone cases with a little compartment for a couple of cards. Try that.
They do sell iPhone cases with a little compartment for a couple of cards. Try that.
The World Is Not Yet A Giant Hotspot
Blogging while traveling is sometimes impossible. My local fishwrap is currently asking "Can Superman, Batman rescue the porn-movie business?" This is important.
Happy Hour
I know it's early, but it IS Saturday.
It looks like the health exchanges are working and the premiums seem very competitive.
It looks like the health exchanges are working and the premiums seem very competitive.
In Maryland, a 25-year-old will be able to purchase a plan that is more comprehensive than policies currently available on the individual market for $114 per month, while a middle aged adult will have to pay approximately $260 per month for insurance. A 21-year-old non-smoker can start as low as $93 a month. Officials say they used their authority to deny rate increases to reduce the proposed premiums by “more than 50 percent.” Thirty other states have have similar authority.
Here's Digby
on the Summers/Yellen competition:
Read the whole thing.
Given that both are highly experienced but one is a macho blabbermouth who can't get along with anyone and the other is a thoughtful, deliberate, careful person with a gift for finding consensus, you'd think this wouldn't be a question of gender at all. And the fact that it is, is frankly fairly shocking. Fed chairman is clearly no job for a blunderbuss like Larry Summers. Only an old boy network that simply wants to keep their own in power would even suggest such a thing.
Read the whole thing.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Strange Business Models
Not sure why Hertz thinks belittling deaf customers is sound business practice, but what do I know.
No More Tunnels!
Abraham Browning of Camden [is credited] with coining the name at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia on New Jersey Day, August 24, 1876...."Mr. Browning compared New Jersey to an immense barrel, filled with good things to eat and open at both ends, with Pennsylvanians grabbing from one end and the New Yorkers from the other. He called New Jersey the Garden State, and the name has clung to it ever since."
--nj.us
Friday Crass Commercialism
Just because people always seem to need more flash drives.
I'm so old I remember that nightmare inbetween period when floppies didn't have enough storage to be useful, and zipdrives were not universally functional even when they weren't eating your disks. All hail the flash drive!
I'm so old I remember that nightmare inbetween period when floppies didn't have enough storage to be useful, and zipdrives were not universally functional even when they weren't eating your disks. All hail the flash drive!
MOOC'd
There's just no reason to believe that MOOCs are "super cheap." Nor is there any real reason to believe that the internets are some disruptive education technology that DVDs and scantron answer sheets weren't. Also, too, books and correspondence courses. Also, even more too, this disruptive technology has been around and widely available (as in, in the homes of most people) for 10 years without anyone managing to make it work well for this purpose.
They're just the latest grift which gullible or fingers in the pie administrators will throw lots of money at. The latest fad in education is that the biggest problem with education is that you actually have to pay people to educate, so the fantasy of the course in the box which costs nothing and lasts forever will be around for awhile. That so many highly educated elites who should know better are enamored with them puzzles me, but they tended to love the Iraq war, too.
They're just the latest grift which gullible or fingers in the pie administrators will throw lots of money at. The latest fad in education is that the biggest problem with education is that you actually have to pay people to educate, so the fantasy of the course in the box which costs nothing and lasts forever will be around for awhile. That so many highly educated elites who should know better are enamored with them puzzles me, but they tended to love the Iraq war, too.
The Worst Person In The World
Richard W. Fisher.
The debate about the role of gender has spilled out well beyond the White House. Richard W. Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said this year that if the president chose Ms. Yellen, the decision would be “driven by gender.”
Scandals
Dean reminds us of the past.
He has dared, some would say, to suggest that the Federal Reserve should sometimes worry more about creating jobs than cutting inflation a few tenths of a percent. In the words of a friend, Mr. Blinder's comments are like "sticking needles in the eyes of central bankers."
Mr. Blinder has also stirred controversy by chastising European central banks for allowing high unemployment. And he has criticized the view, popular among Fed officials, that central banks are more effective in controlling inflation if they ignore unemployment.
The Parking Problem
I'm enough of an economist to be ok with developers providing parking that people actually pay for (there are still externalities which are underconsidered, but in the vast scheme of things I'm not going to cry about the voluntary provision of such things), but it is a tremendous mystery to me why neighbors prefer new rowhouse construction with garage parking to the alternative. A curbcut rowhouse garage takes away a public parking spot in order to create a private one. This is not a benefit to existing residents.
Yes, yes, I know my parking posts are boring. The thing is that I'm actually relatively sympathetic (for a car hater) to neighborhood concerns about parking. It's just that this is one area I've seen them get it totally wrong. Demanding parking is one thing (also wrong, but less wrong), but preferring front facing public parking stealing garages is totally wrong.
More than that, you don't have a right to a view over vacant lots.
Yes, yes, I know my parking posts are boring. The thing is that I'm actually relatively sympathetic (for a car hater) to neighborhood concerns about parking. It's just that this is one area I've seen them get it totally wrong. Demanding parking is one thing (also wrong, but less wrong), but preferring front facing public parking stealing garages is totally wrong.
More than that, you don't have a right to a view over vacant lots.
The New Reality
This is England, but the basic story applies here. The divide between those who have access to a bit of parental subsidy and those who don't is going to keep widening. It isn't just house downpayments, either. In a world of first month/last month/deposit to rent an apartment, you practically need that much money just to rent.
This isn't new. Of course the bank of mom and dad has long been a big help for those who had access to it, it's just that increasingly it's going to be a bigger part of the inequality divide in our glorious new economy. It isn't just Trust Fund babies, it's the people who can score a relatively modest extra 20 grand when it's needed.
Meet Jemma. She's 30 years old, and works as a teacher in Shropshire. She's worked hard and saved up throughout her 20s, but it soon became clear that she was never going to be able to get together a deposit to buy a home of her own. Like millions of young people today, home ownership was a distant dream, and she faced a future stuck in the private rental market in a house she couldn't make a home.
As it turned out, Jemma is one of the lucky few who could rely on the Bank of Mum and Dad. Her father, Peter, raided his savings to make sure his daughter could buy a home. Peter's not alone. Yesterday, Shelter released new research showing that parents pay out a staggering £2bn each year to help their children into a home of their own, and the number of first-time buyers relying on their parents is growing fast. We're not talking about a few hundred or even a few thousand pounds either; the average contribution is an eye-watering £17,000. Parents are raiding retirement pots and cutting back on spending to make it happen.
This isn't new. Of course the bank of mom and dad has long been a big help for those who had access to it, it's just that increasingly it's going to be a bigger part of the inequality divide in our glorious new economy. It isn't just Trust Fund babies, it's the people who can score a relatively modest extra 20 grand when it's needed.
Morning Thread
In the old days, Weiner would be wearing a trench coat and flashing women at bus stops. Progress!
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Unexpected Developments
I figured NYC would let them keep the Madison Square Garden site forever. Not all that optimistic they'll really vacate in 10 years, but at least it's possible.
Increases probability that at the very least a more functional Penn Station will be created.
Increases probability that at the very least a more functional Penn Station will be created.
Thursday Crass Commercialism
For those of you who thought the Seinfeld characters were too lovable, there's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, billed as Seinfeld on crack and filled with truly horrible people, including Danny DeVito starting in season 2.
Good views of my neighborhood in the urban hellhole, too.
Good views of my neighborhood in the urban hellhole, too.
Greedy Municipal Workers
Something to remember for when Chuck Lane and Fred Hiatt start blathering on about DC's unaffordable pensions.
Amazing how $150 million can just appear when you "need" it.
In the agreement, several aspects of which have not been finalized and would require approval from the D.C. Council, the District and United would split the costs for the project, with the city providing about $150 million to assemble land and prepare the site and the team spending a similar amount building the stadium. Levien said the team had yet to decide whether to build a 20,000-seat stadium with room for expansion or build 25,000 seats at the start.
Amazing how $150 million can just appear when you "need" it.
Mansplained
Larry did a crude calculation.
Remember these were "Remarks at NBER Conference on Diversifying the Science & Engineering Workforce" to an audience composed largely of elite women scientists and their girlybrains.
The second thing that I think one has to recognize is present is what I would call the combination of, and here, I'm focusing on something that would seek to answer the question of why is the pattern different in science and engineering, and why is the representation even lower and more problematic in science and engineering than it is in other fields. And here, you can get a fair distance, it seems to me, looking at a relatively simple hypothesis. It does appear that on many, many different human attributes—height, weight, propensity for criminality, overall IQ, mathematical ability, scientific ability—there is relatively clear evidence that whatever the difference in means—which can be debated—there is a difference in the standard deviation, and variability of a male and a female population. And that is true with respect to attributes that are and are not plausibly, culturally determined. If one supposes, as I think is reasonable, that if one is talking about physicists at a top twenty-five research university, one is not talking about people who are two standard deviations above the mean. And perhaps it's not even talking about somebody who is three standard deviations above the mean. But it's talking about people who are three and a half, four standard deviations above the mean in the one in 5,000, one in 10,000 class. Even small differences in the standard deviation will translate into very large differences in the available pool substantially out. I did a very crude calculation, which I'm sure was wrong and certainly was unsubtle, twenty different ways. I looked at the Xie and Shauman paper-looked at the book, rather-looked at the evidence on the sex ratios in the top 5% of twelfth graders. If you look at those-they're all over the map, depends on which test, whether it's math, or science, and so forth, but 50% women, one woman for every two men, would be a high-end estimate from their estimates. From that, you can back out a difference in the implied standard deviations that works out to be about 20%. And from that, you can work out the difference out several standard deviations. If you do that calculation—and I have no reason to think that it couldn't be refined in a hundred ways—you get five to one, at the high end. Now, it's pointed out by one of the papers at this conference that these tests are not a very good measure and are not highly predictive with respect to people's ability to do that. And that's absolutely right. But I don't think that resolves the issue at all. Because if my reading of the data is right—it's something people can argue about—that there are some systematic differences in variability in different populations, then whatever the set of attributes are that are precisely defined to correlate with being an aeronautical engineer at MIT or being a chemist at Berkeley, those are probably different in their standard deviations as well. So my sense is that the unfortunate truth—I would far prefer to believe something else, because it would be easier to address what is surely a serious social problem if something else were true—is that the combination of the high-powered job hypothesis and the differing variances probably explains a fair amount of this problem.
Remember these were "Remarks at NBER Conference on Diversifying the Science & Engineering Workforce" to an audience composed largely of elite women scientists and their girlybrains.
Dear Penthouse Forum
And my coach always forced me to go on the field with one arm tied behind my back.
I guess when even businesses don't want to compete and make money, liberal fascism has truly arrived.
I guess when even businesses don't want to compete and make money, liberal fascism has truly arrived.
Austerity Forever
To me good economic noises are just Lucy with the football, but others are more optimistic.
But let's remember January, 2010. Several months before "recovery summer."
But let's remember January, 2010. Several months before "recovery summer."
Starting in 2011, we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years. (Applause.) Spending related to our national security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will not be affected. But all other discretionary government programs will. Like any cash-strapped family, we will work within a budget to invest in what we need and sacrifice what we don't. And if I have to enforce this discipline by veto, I will. (Applause.)
We will continue to go through the budget, line by line, page by page, to eliminate programs that we can't afford and don't work. We've already identified $20 billion in savings for next year. To help working families, we'll extend our middle-class tax cuts. But at a time of record deficits, we will not continue tax cuts for oil companies, for investment fund managers, and for those making over $250,000 a year. We just can't afford it. (Applause.)
Now, even after paying for what we spent on my watch, we'll still face the massive deficit we had when I took office. More importantly, the cost of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will continue to skyrocket. That's why I've called for a bipartisan fiscal commission, modeled on a proposal by Republican Judd Gregg and Democrat Kent Conrad. (Applause.) This can't be one of those Washington gimmicks that lets us pretend we solved a problem. The commission will have to provide a specific set of solutions by a certain deadline.
Now, yesterday, the Senate blocked a bill that would have created this commission. So I'll issue an executive order that will allow us to go forward, because I refuse to pass this problem on to another generation of Americans. (Applause.) And when the vote comes tomorrow, the Senate should restore the pay-as-you-go law that was a big reason for why we had record surpluses in the 1990s. (Applause.)
It Ain't Your Marriage
One thing I find a bit weird in our DIVORCE IS EVIL CULTURE is how quick we are, as a culture, to think that a spouse sticking with cad of whatever type is somehow doing it wrong. I've seen people who I normally think are a bit better than this speculate about the crass careerist motivations of Huma Abedin because they must be the only reason she'd stick with him.
I don't know these people and don't much care about their private lives. Hate Weiner the politician and don't vote for him for all I care. But people get married for a reason. They stay together - or not - for reasons, and those are their reasons. There's generally no way to really know what goes on in the black box of other people's marriages - what they want, what they expect, what they put up with, and why. Unless there are clear signs of physical abuse in a relationship, it really isn't our place to reason why at all. For all we know Huma is as "horrible" as Weiner is by the rules of this particular game. I'm not speculating, just saying it's their thing. Not ours.
Not a defense of Weiner, just suggesting people stop trying to get inside his wife's head. It's her business.
I don't know these people and don't much care about their private lives. Hate Weiner the politician and don't vote for him for all I care. But people get married for a reason. They stay together - or not - for reasons, and those are their reasons. There's generally no way to really know what goes on in the black box of other people's marriages - what they want, what they expect, what they put up with, and why. Unless there are clear signs of physical abuse in a relationship, it really isn't our place to reason why at all. For all we know Huma is as "horrible" as Weiner is by the rules of this particular game. I'm not speculating, just saying it's their thing. Not ours.
Not a defense of Weiner, just suggesting people stop trying to get inside his wife's head. It's her business.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Thieves
Pretty sure that if I break into your house, steal all of your stuff, and then sell it then I'm going to go jail. But I'm not a bank, so laws actually apply to me.
Wonder How This Will Play Out
ACLU is challenging the ban and the attorney general is refusing to defend it. Now this.
Two female couples applied for and received marriage licenses in Montgomery County this morning, despite a state law that bans the unions.
The developments come a day after Montgomery County Register of Wills D. Bruce Hanes said he would grant licenses to gay couples because he wants to come down "on the right side of history and the law."
Benghazi
Months and months later, I still have no idea what this is supposed to be about.
Yes, I know, it's about trying to make Hillary Clinton look bad somehow. But what, really is the scandal supposed to be? I have no idea.
Yes, I know, it's about trying to make Hillary Clinton look bad somehow. But what, really is the scandal supposed to be? I have no idea.
Ferries Are Cool
But they're unlikely to have significant ridership, especially in places where people neither live nor work near the ferry terminals.
People who don't rely on transit are generally interested in low ridership models for reasons I don't understand. Especially in that ultimate urban hellhole, NYC, it's pretty obvious what works and what doesn't.
People who don't rely on transit are generally interested in low ridership models for reasons I don't understand. Especially in that ultimate urban hellhole, NYC, it's pretty obvious what works and what doesn't.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Unsolicited Junk Shots
An exception to this point is the degree to which Weiner was sending his pics without sufficient encouragement from the recipient(s)*. That ain't right.
*I can't bring myself to review all of the details to remember how much this happened.
*I can't bring myself to review all of the details to remember how much this happened.
The Summers Of Our Discontent
Obviously Larry - can I call him Larry? - doesn't get the job without the approval of this here little blog. That's how things work in this country, after all. Win me over, Larry. Promise to give people free money. It's the right thing to do.
Who Cares
There are millions of things in just about anyone's personal life which could be seen as Saying Oh So Much About Them - perhaps rightly, perhaps wrongly - but it's really only the sexytime stuff that we ever care about.
Burn The Gay Wizard
One thing that's fascinated me over the years is how much journalists seem to be unaware of all of the myriad things that are in their newspapers (and now websites). It isn't all "straight journalism." There are opinion pieces. There's a real estate section. There's a book review section and maybe even a magazine with short stories. Pretty sure I spy a comic now and then. Stanley Fish occasionally discovers that carrots are orange and tells us about it. The point is that not everything that falls under the imprint of "The New York Times" or whatever closely follows some platonic model of whatever the hell "journalism" is supposed to be. So I don't even know what it means to not like what Nate Silver did at the Times. Did they not like Dick Cavett either?
I'm not equating the two, I'm just pointing out that the modern newspaper has long been a bundle containing a variety of types of writing.
I'm not equating the two, I'm just pointing out that the modern newspaper has long been a bundle containing a variety of types of writing.
I'm Not Sure Why But I Think They Let Girls Be Monarchs Now
I'm not saying that I noticed anyone getting actually getting this concept wrong, but there was a strong undercurrent of "only boys are legit" in some of the coverage yesterday. Given who has actually been the monarch for the past few years or so this has been a bit weird. The next monarch will likely be a king. The subsequent monarch will likely be a king. Is it really so important that the one after that is too? And, uh, why?
A Blind Squirrel Finds One Of The Nuts We've Been Throwing At Him For 30 Years
Abortion restrictions mostly only affect non-rich women?
This has never occurred to anyone before. Fortunately our laboratories of democracy have their lab rats.
This has never occurred to anyone before. Fortunately our laboratories of democracy have their lab rats.
At That Time Of The Night
I've never been a real chronic insomnia sufferer, but had a enough flirtations with it to be a bit insomina-phobic. It sucks. Sure there are plenty of nights when I don't quite sleep the sleep of the just, but that's somehow different from real insomnia. I suppose the difference is the difference between being annoyed that you can't fall asleep quite so cleanly and finding the act of trying to do so to be practically painful.
Anyway, I'm awake you bastards.
Anyway, I'm awake you bastards.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Thread
I've been trying to avoid news for fear of hearing about that thing, so listen to Stuart Zechman and Jay Ackroyd and Joan McCarter (mcjoan) talking about the aristocracy for a while.
Oh, and then relax with some Mike Bloomfield.
Chester Stadium
The thing with the Chester stadium, not so dissimilar from other stadiums, is that it's surrounded by an ocean of parking lots and seemingly designed to reassure visitors that they won't even be aware that they're anywhere near this place called Chester. Admittedly, there isn't a lot of reason to visit Chester, but one would have thought the point of a publicly built stadium would be to, you know, try to change that.
Nobody Could Have Predicted
Obviously the people who signed off on this cunning plan all deserve giant medals.
I'm not sure I've seen this really spelled out often enough. Whatever the merits otherwise, there's no reason that the "fake vaccination campaign" couldn't have actually come with, you know, REAL FUCKING VACCINATIONS, along with the DNA tests. But they didn't administer the second and third doses.
KARACHI, Pakistan — Usman, who limps on a leg bowed by the polio he caught as a child, made sure that his first three children were protected from the disease, but he turned away vaccinators when his youngest was born.
He was furious that the Central Intelligence Agency, in its hunt for Osama bin Laden, had staged a fake vaccination campaign, and infuriated by American drone strikes, one of which, he said, had struck the son of a man he knew, blowing off his head. He had come to see the war on polio, the longest, most expensive disease eradication effort in history, as a Western plot.
I'm not sure I've seen this really spelled out often enough. Whatever the merits otherwise, there's no reason that the "fake vaccination campaign" couldn't have actually come with, you know, REAL FUCKING VACCINATIONS, along with the DNA tests. But they didn't administer the second and third doses.
All They Have
Not going to blast the reporter for the oversight, but all stories about potentially stealing municipal pensions should point out that quite likely at least some of the workers don't have Social Security.
The proportion has been reduced greatly over the years, but once upon a time most state and local public workers were exempt from Social Security. The state/local governments provided pensions that our elites now want to be stolen were there for them instead.
The proportion has been reduced greatly over the years, but once upon a time most state and local public workers were exempt from Social Security. The state/local governments provided pensions that our elites now want to be stolen were there for them instead.
All They Have
I don't know what the full breakdown of who does/doesn't have Social Security among Detroit's current/future retirees, but plenty don't.
But the average pension benefit in Detroit is not especially high. The average annual payment is about $19,000, said Bruce Babiarz, a spokesman for the pension funds. And it is about $30,000 for retired police officers and firefighters, who do not get Social Security benefits, he said.
All They Have
Overall this editorial is fine, but they should make it clear that many of these workers don't have Social Security.
Priorities
I guess we're pivoting again.
Yes that's cynical, and no I don't buy the view that presidential speechifying can Change Everything, but they do at least signal priorities. It's July, 2013, bitches.
WASHINGTON — With major battles looming in the fall over the federal budget and the debt ceiling, President Obama is trying to regain the initiative, embarking on a campaign-style tour of the Midwest this week to lay out his agenda for reinvigorating the nation’s economy, administration officials said Sunday.
Yes that's cynical, and no I don't buy the view that presidential speechifying can Change Everything, but they do at least signal priorities. It's July, 2013, bitches.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Well He Is
The stupidest fucking person on the face of the planet.
In Britain, following George Osborne's accelerated tax rises and spending cuts, the economy has flatlined and deficit reduction has stalled, as I feared. The US has grown more than four times faster than the UK since the autumn of 2010 and more than recovered all the output it lost following the global financial crisis, while three years of stagnation in Britain means our economy remains more than 3% below its pre-crisis peak.Not that our "recovery" is really something to imitate.
This week we will finally see signs of recovery in the British economy after three wasted years. City forecasts are predicting growth of up to 0.8% for the last quarter. Any growth is both welcome and hugely overdue. But to catch up the ground we have lost on growth and the deficit since 2010, we would actually need to see growth of 1.3% a quarter for the next two years.
"All Sorts Of People"
What if the wrong kinds of people are empowered to be unaccountable vigilantes? fainting couch....
I Work 70 Hours Per Week
I'm not sure how true that is, but it's probably closer to being true than it is to being false. But of course my 'work' is mostly unsupervised, gives me time flexibility, lets me bugger off for a few hours if I feel like it, etc. Lots of white collar professionals work a lot more than they should (not exactly a white collar professional myself, but of that class at least), but even ignoring their relative wages, they generally don't face the kind of impossible bullshit that that someone trying to maximize the hours on two part time service jobs faces. You're on your feet. You work (or you don't) when your supervisor tells you to. Your hours, wages, and shifts are unpredictable too much of the time.
People with decent career jobs who respond to the magic McDonald's worker by thinking that they, too, work a lot are nuts. You might work a lot, yes, but not like that.
People with decent career jobs who respond to the magic McDonald's worker by thinking that they, too, work a lot are nuts. You might work a lot, yes, but not like that.
All They Have
It's usually lost in these discussions, but for a lot of municipal employees/retirees, their pension is all they have. They didn't pay into Social Security. Their public pensions aren't some bonus on top of their Social Security, it is (effectively) their Social Security.
Progress!
Horrible loon Ken Cuccinelli reassures Virginia voters that even people he considers disgusting degenerates will get tax breaks if they are rich enough.
Terry McAuliff is kind of a dick and nobody likes him. I don't. But holy shit is his opponent godawful crazy. Go Terry!
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Saturday Crass Commercialism
Behind in my superhero movie watching, but you can per-order that Superman dude's latest movie.
Internet says the next Superman dude movie will also have THE BATMAN.
Internet says the next Superman dude movie will also have THE BATMAN.
How To Get By While Working Only 70 Hours Per Week
Not a new point, but it is quite amazing that so many people think that what people who are managing to get by working shit jobs for 70 hours per week really need is advice from people who have no experience trying to get by working shit jobs for 70 hours per week. Spend less on t-bones and cadillacs! Put on an extra sweater and turn off that heat!
Yeah, thanks assholes. Don't need the heat advice, because they just shut it off.
Yeah, thanks assholes. Don't need the heat advice, because they just shut it off.
The Poors Have Always Been Poors
And it ain't so bad being a poor when being a poor is all you've known. You won't miss the good stuff, like heat, because you've never known it.
Lynching
Black people aren't just the real racists, they're responsible for lynchings. QED, also, therefore, too. Case closed.
Serious Stuff
Heat kills people.
Fifty firefighters were overcome by high temperatures Friday while battling a huge blaze in New Jersey, officials said, amid a heat wave suspected in the deaths of at least 13 people across the country in the last week.
Firefighter after firefighter wilted under heavy gear in temperatures that soared near 100 degrees as they battled the blaze, which was tearing through several buildings — including three homes — early Friday afternoon, NBC New York reported.
Twenty-three firefighters were transported to hospitals with heat-related conditions, emergency management officials told NBC New York. Twenty-seven more firefighters were treated on the scene for heat exhaustion.
Morning Thread
Detroit Broke. Haircuts, bailins, municipal bankruptcies, chained CPI, Medicare reform, grand bargains. Call it anything you want, it all amounts to the same thing. They want it all. Why go after people's savings and pensions? Because, as Tim Geithner so famously said, that's where the money is.
Friday, July 19, 2013
Sabotage or Support?
Tim F. raises an interesting question. Constituent support is something most Congress people pay a lot of attention to. It's one thing to lie in a political ad, or at a press conference, but would the Member instruct his or local staff to tell a constituent falsehoods about eligibility and application processes?
America Is Too Damn Poor
The changing geography of poverty is of interest and suburban poverty does have additional challenges, but the real issue is we have too any poor people in the greatest most richest country in the history of the universe. The solution is pretty easy, really. Give people jobs and money and stop letting the banks steal their houses.
Unpossible
Until now I had complete faith in the system.
Even as the nation’s top energy regulator is poised to extract a record settlement from JPMorgan Chase over accusations that it manipulated power markets, the agency is expected to spare a top bank lieutenant who federal investigators initially contended made “false and misleading statements under oath,” according to people briefed on the matter.
Providers
A recurrent question is why US health care prices are so much higher (pdf) than the rest of the OECD, even though the US system ranks in the bottom third of most measurements of effectiveness. Part of the answer is the skimmers, the third party gatekeepers who take money out, but don't put health care services in. Another part of the answer is that Medicare prices are set by a committee of providers, in secret triannual meetings which are used to set provider reimbursement rates for the industry as a whole:
On the last week of April earlier this year, a small committee of doctors met quietly in a midsized ballroom at the Renaissance Hotel in Chicago. There was an anesthesiologist, an ophthalmologist, a radiologist, and so on—thirty-one in all, each representing their own medical specialty society, each a heavy hitter in his or her own field. The meeting was convened, as always, by the American Medical Association. Since 1992, the AMA has summoned this same committee three times a year. It’s called the Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee (or RUC, pronounced “ruck”), and it’s probably one of the most powerful committees in America that you’ve never heard of.
The purpose of each of these triannual RUC meetings is always the same: it’s the committee members’ job to decide what Medicare should pay them and their colleagues for the medical procedures they perform. How much should radiologists get for administering an MRI? How much should cardiologists be paid for inserting a heart stent?
While these doctors always discuss the “value” of each procedure in terms of the amount of time, work, and overhead required of them to perform it, the implication of that “value” is not lost on anyone in the room: they are, essentially, haggling over what their own salaries should be. “No one ever says the word ‘price,’ ” a doctor on the committee told me after the April meeting. “But yeah, everyone knows we’re talking about money.”
That doctor spoke to me on condition of anonymity in part because all the committee members, as well as more than a hundred or so of their advisers and consultants, are required before each meeting to sign what was described to me as a “draconian” nondisclosure agreement. They are not allowed to talk about the specifics of what is discussed, and they are not allowed to remove any of the literature handed out behind those double doors. Neither the minutes nor the surveys they use to arrive at their decisions are ever published, and the meetings, which last about five days each time, are always closed to both the public and the press. After that meeting in April, there was not so much as a single headline, not in any major newspaper, not even on the wonkiest of the TV shows, announcing that it had taken place at all.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Some Credit
The article Dean is talking about doesn't actually call a "trade agreement" a "free trade agreement" which is the standard way our elite publications tend to talk about any trade agreement. At least by not calling it a free trade agreement there's much less inherent contradiction.
Terrified
I'm sure the 80/20 medical loss ratio is a bummer for some insurers, but 20% to the middlemen who, you know, don't actually do anything useful is hardly something to get excited about. It might be an improvement generally, but that just tells us how stupid things have been.
Flophouses
There are genuine issues with safety/building codes and, yes, it isn't totally insane that neighbors want to keep The Poors out, but it shouldn't be forgotten that housing regulations, including minimum unit size and parking requirements, do greatly increase the cost of housing at the lower end.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
N$A
Aside from the five orders of magnitude difference between this guy's contribution and HSBC,there seems to have been a great deal of effort expended in tracking down this miscreant.
Just The Cost Of Doing Business
The price of continuing to effectively be a criminal enterprise.
JPMorgan Chase is aiming to settle accusations it devised “manipulative schemes” that transformed “money-losing power plants into powerful profit centers,” according to people briefed on the matter, a deal that is expected to cost the bank, the nation’s largest, about $500 million.
Progress
Good to have some things to cheer for.
LONDON (AP) — Britain has legalized gay marriage after Queen Elizabeth II gave her royal stamp of approval.
City People
Not sure I especially love this project, but, well, you know.
Several residents expressed concern about a rail line bringing more "city people" into Upper Merion Township.
"This corporate business park - they're not going to use it," said John Baessler, who said he was grateful to see that SEPTA had eliminated a possible route near his home along the Norfolk Southern rail line.
Another woman, who would not give her name, put it more explicitly: "If somebody can't get to King of Prussia by car, they shouldn't be coming at all."
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
The Cheney States Of America
Liz Cheney is going to primary Mike Enzi in Wyoming.
I'm so old I remember when liberals who supported a primary against ex-Senator Joe Lieberman were doing something of unprecedented uncivil evil.
I'm so old I remember when liberals who supported a primary against ex-Senator Joe Lieberman were doing something of unprecedented uncivil evil.
Black=Urban
We'll get a million lectures from racist white guys who aren't racist SO DON'T SAY THAT on the "reality of urban crime" in America so, you know, it's totally rational to fear scary black people.
The big scary city of gated community of The Retreat at Twin Lakes in the urban hellhole of Sanford, FL.
But, you know, black guy, so urban. Reality. Crime. Stupid liberals.
The big scary city of gated community of The Retreat at Twin Lakes in the urban hellhole of Sanford, FL.
But, you know, black guy, so urban. Reality. Crime. Stupid liberals.
The Dreams, They Crazy
The other night I dreamed I was playing some sort of weird "celebrity" Jeopardy with Al Gore and some other greater worthies at a Netroots Nation conference. Al kept shutting down the game because he had to run off to take calls. I kept screwing up by hitting the buttons accidentally.
I'm actually genuinely sure there was great meaning in this dream.
I'm actually genuinely sure there was great meaning in this dream.
Bygones
How can you get rid of $2 billion in debt and still not manage? How can a casino cost $2.4 billion to build?
Hopefully Chris Christie gives them some more money.
Wall Street analysts have said it could take years before Revel, built at a cost of $2.4 billion, reached profitability. The Chapter 11 reorganization it just completed eliminated nearly $2 billion in debt, but the massive casino resort is still burning cash to keep operating.
Hopefully Chris Christie gives them some more money.
$15
Another case of obviously good public policy that, sadly, can't be implemented. $15/hour minimum wage.
Just Saying
You know, anyone who thinks that we as a nation have Overcome Racism ought to check out the comments section of any local newspaper that has any online story whatsoever to do with race, however tangentially. That comments section is, I guarantee, a fucking racist cesspit.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Restive Provinces
Widely forecast by who?
As protests over the verdict unfolded across the country, it became clear in Sanford that the widely forecast unrest was unlikely to come to pass.
Something to do...
Panelists this week on Virtually Speaking Sundays were Joan McCarter (McJoan) and David Dayen (dday) - you might want to give it a listen as relief from the other talking heads.
Required
This article (headline especially) confuses a city reducing required parking for development and the city mandating reductions in parking. There's a big difference.
Of Course She Is
Not that it matters all that much, but Jenny McCarthy will be a new host on The View.
There was a time when the vaccine-autism link was a reasonable hypothesis. Kids had been getting more mercury than they were supposed to. It was worth a look.
But Teh Science said it wasn't true, and also that what is true is that if you don't vaccinate your kids they might get sick, infect other people, and die.
There was a time when the vaccine-autism link was a reasonable hypothesis. Kids had been getting more mercury than they were supposed to. It was worth a look.
But Teh Science said it wasn't true, and also that what is true is that if you don't vaccinate your kids they might get sick, infect other people, and die.
Opportunity Lost
I've said it plenty of times, but it should be understood that the crisis was, actually, an opportunity. We could have borrowed cheaply or even just had the Fed write a big check to the Treasury (free money) to do useful things. Oh well.
I suppose the silver lining is that if the economy fails to really recovery we'll still have that opportunity! Not that we'll take it.
I suppose the silver lining is that if the economy fails to really recovery we'll still have that opportunity! Not that we'll take it.
Stuff They Say
On live TV you can say dumb/wrong things inadvertently, but these are obviously talking points.
Kicking The Poors
One does wonder whether the assholes in the House are just evil, whether they truly don't have any awareness of what it's like to be poor, especially in a recession, and whether they have any idea just how meager food stamp benefits are. This isn't quite the normal stupid or evil question, it's more a stupid or clueless/no empathy question.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Balancing
This paragraph isn't written as well as it should be, but hopefully it isn't the FAA's job to consider this "balancing."
If for no other reason than obvious recurring threats to passenger safety wouldn't exactly be good for that revenue.
Still, unless the cause of the Heathrow fire is pinpointed quickly, Boeing, the airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration could once again find themselves in a delicate spot in balancing passenger safety with high financial stakes, including millions in lost revenue that would come from any delays or suspensions in service.
If for no other reason than obvious recurring threats to passenger safety wouldn't exactly be good for that revenue.
What's the matter with you and me?
As opposed to "What's the matter with Kansas?"
RJ Eskow asks the questions.
My Right To Free Parking Is Sacrosanct
New buildings must have off street parking, while I must keep my cheap residential parking sticker without any kids getting off my lawn.
Another idea would be to charge a fortune, or "market rate," for all residential parking permits, but then this guy would have to pay for his parking instead of making other people pay for his parking so that obviously wouldn't be right.
If Boston officials are so confident of a car-free future, they should charge a small fortune for new on-street residential parking permits in densely settled neighborhoods. Theoretically, there should be few takers. Current sticker holders, meanwhile, would retain permanent rights to free on-street parking. Upon sale or vacancy of their units, the sticker could be transferred to a new owner or tenant. It’s a way to bring the city’s planning principles in line with the concerns of longtime residents who don’t have the luxury of living without a car.
Another idea would be to charge a fortune, or "market rate," for all residential parking permits, but then this guy would have to pay for his parking instead of making other people pay for his parking so that obviously wouldn't be right.
Sunday Bobbleheads
This Week has Karen Bass (D) and Tom Cole (R)
Meet the Press has Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell
Face the Nation has BiBi, Dick Durbin, and 3 Republican House members.
Document the atrocities!
Meet the Press has Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell
Face the Nation has BiBi, Dick Durbin, and 3 Republican House members.
Document the atrocities!
We Is All Bloggers Together
I don't always agree with Jeralyn, but I can't imagine a blogosphere without TalkLeft. If you can.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
An Alternative
If you're looking for an alternative to the grim prospect of a Saturday evening spent contemplating the Texas or Florida legal systems, I recommend Moone Boy, now available on Hulu. Quite good!
Happy Hour - It's Here!
I read things like this, Fukushima Radiation
Leaks Rise Sharply, Officials Are Baffled As to Why
and just figure we're fucked
and just figure we're fucked
Urban Noise
It's almost impossible tg enforce a regulation against horn blowing in any reasonable way. A friend suggested an effective horn tax by putting a limit on the number of honks. Once you go over, you gotta pay to have it turned back on again at your annual car inspection or similar.
In 1972, the city’s noise code was overhauled. Horn-honking “when there is no imminent danger” became a criminal offense. The Sanitation Department redesigned its garbage trucks to operate at a noise level no louder than a vacuum cleaner. Car owners had 10 minutes to shut off a wailing alarm.
It's Saturday, Saturday
I read all the internets and did find anything to talk about. What's going on?
Morning Thread II
I'm refusing to turn on the news. I figure it will be nothing but blather about what the Zimmerman jury is doing RIGHT THIS SECOND.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Friday Evening
Sucky blogging today, was busy with stuff in my wireless broadband wasn't behaving very well.
In Texas
They're confiscating all tampons and pads from women entering the state legislature because of security.
Happy hour thread.
Happy hour thread.
It's Working!!!
Of course the people in charge of deciding the fate of Greece don't think ameliorating economic misery is really their goal. No bit of bad data will convince them that maybe they did the wrong thing.
The beatings will continue...forever.
Greece's jobless rate scaled a new high in April, as a crippling recession takes its toll after more than three years of austerity implemented in exchange for funds under an international bailout deal.
The beatings will continue...forever.
Those Consumers
All the best minds on the planet can't figure out why people without jobs and money refuse to spend!
Such mysteries. And why won't they just give a few speeches for a hundred thousand euros a pop? Lazy bums.
But something seemed amiss on this afternoon, as it has almost every weekend for more than a year. As with so much else now bedeviling France, the economy is to blame. French consumers simply are not spending the way they used to, and that is an impediment not only for the merchants of the Marché aux Puces, but also for the country’s ability to emerge from recession.
Such mysteries. And why won't they just give a few speeches for a hundred thousand euros a pop? Lazy bums.
Half-life
One of the more bizarre elements of employers wanting liberal arts colleges turned into vo-tech programs is that it's hard to think of a time when specific job skills had a shorter half-life.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Ireland Votes in Legal Abortion
Well, sort of. Only in cases where the woman's life is endangered. But in the Irish context this is -- well, I never thought it would happen in my lifetime. And it makes for more placid contemplation than recent US events on this front. Anyhow some context chez moi if you are interested.
Policy Is So Boring
Your buzzfeed political editor.
Imagine many of my neighbors will care when they stop getting their tiny bit of "welfare," as will Big Ag when they keep getting theirs.
Imagine many of my neighbors will care when they stop getting their tiny bit of "welfare," as will Big Ag when they keep getting theirs.
The Secret Welfare System
As I've written before, an issue in American politics isn't just that too many whites can't stand the idea of blah people getting any of "their" money, it's that they truly think there is some secret welfare system that only blah people have access to. Plenty of white people have had whatever it is amounts to "welfare" in this country and have found it to be quite stingy. All those young bucks with their cadillacs and t-bone steaks must be getting the really good welfare.
Windows Killed Netbooks
Tech's not my beat, but the rise of Chromebooks is likely due to the fact that once upon a time you could by a Windows XP-based netbook that worked pretty well for cheap, and now you can't. Later versions require too much processor/battery power and, of course, in the case of Windows 8, suck. I still use my $280 or so netbook from 4 years ago. It will be very sad if/when it dies.
Thursday Is New Jobless Day
Almost forgot.
360K new lucky duckies. Just one week, but wrong direction...
360K new lucky duckies. Just one week, but wrong direction...
Nobody Believes You Now
Pincus's Greenwald broadside seemed like a lazy reprint of an oppo dump. A lazy and stupid oppo dump by what I increasingly think are the stupidest fucking people who run our intelligence agencies.
I'm not sure if it's better if they're run by evil geniuses or corrupt morons, but....
I'm not sure if it's better if they're run by evil geniuses or corrupt morons, but....
Better Things Than Man
I suppose a corollary to the question below is... are there any candidates running on significantly expanding the welfare state the citizen deal? I'd try to raise some money for those people, even if they were full of shit. I'll accept some sweet little lies, as long as they are sweet.
On This Barstool I Can't Stay
What should we do my peeps? This sucky blog has emphasized different things at different times. Roughly speaking I'd say I was a bit more activism/fundraising focused once upon a time. Should we do that some more?
They Had Lights Inside Their Eyes
No deep thoughts or anything to say that hasn't been said, but the degree to which we tolerate daily gun violence in this country is nuts. Living in an urban hellhole, I get a pretty good glimpse of the gun violence which actually makes national news and which doesn't. It isn't a perfectly clear pattern, but black people killing black people rarely gets much attention.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Synergize The Confluence Of The Pathways
Sadly, I have never been ridiculous enough to earn the big bucks.
Freedom's For Rich People, Fighting's For Poor
I haven't watched Two American Families, but as described it really is the story of our times. Our prosperous society should offer sufficient benefits to both those who play by all the rules, and also to those who even screw up a bit as we all do. That isn't happening right now.
Other People Are Robots
I think my biggest insight from reading Vonnegut was that there are actually a lot of Dwayne Hoovers out there. The character in the novel is mentally ill, but I think it's reasonable to see his syndrome, the belief that he is the only free willed person in the universe, as is fairly common among people we don't actually classify as having mental illness. I try to run from these people.
I Wrote Some Stuff
I forget to link to my USA Today columns most of the time, sometimes because I'm shy, sometimes because I forget, and sometimes because I hated being edited (no criticism of the editors intended), but the real point I wanted to make in this column is that affordable college education no longer exists, and the olds should understand that.
Much Ado
Actually managed to go see a movie this weekend. Fairly rare event for whatever reason. Anyway, Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing isn't The Best Movie Ever, but if you like your Shakespeare and you like your Whedon you'll probably love it. Denisof and Acker are very good, as is Nathan Fillion as Dogberry.
Never Down
I might just have a faulty memory, but I remember when the nation was gripped by Palin madness, and in my possibly faulty memory, I was not. I thought it was funny and wasn't worried. I suppose I could check my bloggy archives to affirm this memory, but I'd rather just pretend I was fucking right.
Starbursts!
Starbursts!
Run!
I've grown very weary of the freak show side of politics over the years, but I admit there's something a bit fascinating about the Palin part of the freak show. I don't mean Palin herself, I mean the news coverage of her. It isn't what it was, of course, but there was that post-2008 election period when her every utterance was a front page story (MUST CREDIT POLITICO). It was an interesting window into the minds of DC reporters who were seemingly unaware that she lost an election and would never win another one.
Insanity
It never occurs to Gina Kolata, who has been on this beat forever, that this is anything but a perfectly sensible way to develop and distribute a potentially life-extending drug.
The discovery of the mutation and of the two women with their dazzlingly low LDL levels has set off one of the greatest medical chases ever. It is a fevered race among three pharmaceutical companies, Amgen, Pfizer and Sanofi, to test and win approval for a drug that mimics the effects of the mutation, drives LDL levels to new lows and prevents heart attacks. All three companies have drugs in clinical trials and report that their results, so far, are exciting.
“This is our top priority,” said Dr. Andrew Plump, the head of translational medicine at Sanofi. “Nothing else we are doing has the same public health impact.”If it seems perfectly reasonable to you, too, read Dean Baker and his book, The End of Loser Liberalism.
Tuesday, July 09, 2013
Moot
Just revisiting this issue a bit... There was a time when "trying to make CNN better" was a big part of what I thought about. It isn't that I thought fixing CNN was the most important thing in the world, but more that maybe, just maybe, this little blog flapping its butterfly wings could have an impact on such a thing. That thought came out of the world in the 90s, when the insanity of cable news seemed to rule our world. Things have changed a lot since then.
The Establishment
The issue is that the old guard establishment basically identifies as Republican - you know, all that center-right country crap - so it'll take them another 40 years or so to accept that the people who govern in their name are, you know, the worst people the world.
Feeding, Clothing, Bathing
Homelessness is complicated. Anyone who works with dealing with homeless issues will tell you that some homelessness is "voluntary,"in that people, mostly with mental illness and drug addiction, choose to be homeless relative to the available options. They don't want to be "in the system." But this would almost certainly be true even if the tiny palliatives we give to their existence were gone.
How About 22 Weeks?
It's good that Dems have finally realized that at least in places they can actually win elections, women's reproductive health rights are actually a winner for them. Spent so many years watching them cower in fear on issues that would have been winners for them, if only they wouldn't cower in fear. Rumor is 10-15% of the population or so are women and they sometimes can be motivated to vote.
Sex Makes Us Stupid
There are definitely good reasons to hold Spitzer's prostitution scandal against him, and to a lesser extent Weiner's junk shot scandal, but still there's always an element of prudishness about coverage of all politician "sex scandals."
Not My Kids
I guess what gets me about the inter-generational bashing is that I don't even have kids, and yet I manage to get that they're currently being dealt a pretty shitty hand.
At least they've got the internets.
At least they've got the internets.
The Kids Are Alright
There's nothing new about the olds hating on the kids, but it's especially gross to hate on the young people for failing in the economy after giving them the glorious gift of a horrible shitty economy.
And, no, olds, you would not be able to work yourself through college without help or debt today. Public university used to be free or cheap, it no longer is.
And, no, olds, you would not be able to work yourself through college without help or debt today. Public university used to be free or cheap, it no longer is.
Why?
Press reports and conventional wisdom always state that military commanders always want MOOOAR TROOPS and MOOOOAR WAR. Assuming this is basically true... why?
Part 2
In which Snowden predicts he will be accused of being in cahoots with the enemy. Not really sure what that means.
The recipients of Snowden's information were people who read newspapers.
The recipients of Snowden's information were people who read newspapers.
Morning Thread
Here's a bit of a local story. Dewey Beach was incorporated in 1981 and its charter specifically limits what kinds of taxes may be levied. To make up the shortfall, the town has been charging high fees for licenses, inspections and such. Now, a local businessman is contesting those fees, alleging that they are, in effect, taxes prohibited by the charter. The businessman, Alex Pires, ran for the Senate against Carper last go around.
Yannow, somebody has to pay something, sometime.
Yannow, somebody has to pay something, sometime.
Monday, July 08, 2013
Like A Bird Without A Song
Governor Goodhair just makes me miss Molly Ivins.
I come up with the occasional bon mot, but I mostly don't think of myself as a writer/critic. The best are artists, using their words to make us truly understand things we only had a sense of.
I come up with the occasional bon mot, but I mostly don't think of myself as a writer/critic. The best are artists, using their words to make us truly understand things we only had a sense of.
I Used To Care
Once upon a time I saw CNN as an institution worth trying to save. It was always flawed, but there were reasons to think it was aiming in the right direction (if rarely hitting the target). But, yeah, who cares anymore.
You Smell Like Butter
Whatevs.
In its formal response to the parliamentary commission on banking standards, the government said it would introduce a new licencing regime for top bankers, stop bonuses being paid to bosses of bailed out banks and look at ways of injecting more competition into banking.
But the government failed to adopt ideas for sweeping changes to the way the Bank of England is managed and rejected proposals to make banks financially stronger through tightening a measure of capital known as the leverage ratio. Nor would it give a clearer remit to the new regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority.
Promising
I actually liked the movie adaptions of Mother Night and the Bruce Willis Breakfast of Champions, though didn't really like the previous Slaughterhouse Five adaption. This sounds more promising.
We need a good version of Cat's Cradle.
No damn cat, no damn cradle.
We need a good version of Cat's Cradle.
No damn cat, no damn cradle.
Fundraising Funday Day The Final!!!
It's almost over. We've laughed, we've cried, we've fought, we've had makeup sex. Not a bad week, really.
One time donation:
recurring monthly donation set at $10/month!
Thanks so much to all who contributed!
One time donation:
recurring monthly donation set at $10/month!
Thanks so much to all who contributed!
These Shoes Should Be Made For Walking
It is one of my pet peeves, but most shoes should be, you know, actually comfortable for walking. This applies mostly to women's shoes, but not just. Too many shoes are designed for standing, not walking, for someone being transported from one place to another by car with little or no walking involved. I live in an urban hellhole. Walking is always necessary, unless you hire a driver.
Against FlipFloppery
I'm not interested in aesthetic or fashion snob arguments about just about anything clothing-related, but flip-flops are bad for you. They mess up your feet and legs. Do not wear them if you are going to walk any nontrivial distance.
Invasion From Greenland Inevitable
Nothing against any of these individuals workers, and it sucks that they're going to get an effective pay cut, but ZOMG WE HAVE 650,000 CIVILIAN DEFENSE WORKERS.
That doesn't include the contractors, of course.
Furloughs for Department of Defense civilians begin Monday, a move that amounts to a 20 percent cut in pay for hundreds of thousands of defense workers over the next three months and will disrupt operations at installations around the country, Pentagon officials warn.
The furloughs, which were ordered by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to meet mandated budget cuts forced by the sequester, will affect more than 650,000 civilian defense workers.
That doesn't include the contractors, of course.
Ain't No One Left Here To Blame But Me
I've been emo-prog blogging about unemployment for years. I obviously failed to fix the economy. I am sorry.
Sunday, July 07, 2013
Summer Fundraising Fun Day 6!!!
The week's almost over. We have laughed, and we have cried. Shared so many beautiful moments together.
One time donation:
recurring monthly donation set at $10/month!
Thanks to all who have helped to keep my blogs mighty and strong!!!
One time donation:
recurring monthly donation set at $10/month!
Thanks to all who have helped to keep my blogs mighty and strong!!!
The New New New New New New New New New New Deal
I have no idea how to inject this into the bloodstream of the Very Serious People, but a guaranteed minimum income would really help to fix what ails us.
The Fatness Of AlGore
Weird weather so far this summer in this part of the country. It's been hot, though that isn't all that weird, but we've also had an immense amount of rain, which is. And the humidity never takes a break.
Guns
Sitting in for KagroX at this end of the holiday morning, Joe Nocera and Jennifer Mascia.
Nocera's also has been been giving NCAA practices some long overdue attention.
Nocera's also has been been giving NCAA practices some long overdue attention.
Saturday, July 06, 2013
Saturday Afternoon
Dig deep for my Fishtown pied-à-terre!!!
Thanks to all who have contributed. And to the rest of you who show up to read my nonsense.
One time donation:
recurring monthly donation set at $10/month!
Thanks to all who have contributed. And to the rest of you who show up to read my nonsense.
One time donation:
recurring monthly donation set at $10/month!
The Dumbest Ideas
I'm not sure if this post really makes the case, but one of the weirdest ideas floating around is this notion that your emo-prog frenemy on the internet didn't vote in 2010 and therefore Republicans Rule.
Most engaged political junkies vote. The number of people who are engaged political junkies who don't vote is miniscule. It's always fun overestimating the massive power of somewhat annoyed internet liberals on the electorate but, you know, we don't really have much.
It wasn't the Professional Left that lost the House, it was Professional Democrats. The ones that make the big bucks to win these things. In 2012 redistricting played a role. Also, too, professional democrats.
Most engaged political junkies vote. The number of people who are engaged political junkies who don't vote is miniscule. It's always fun overestimating the massive power of somewhat annoyed internet liberals on the electorate but, you know, we don't really have much.
It wasn't the Professional Left that lost the House, it was Professional Democrats. The ones that make the big bucks to win these things. In 2012 redistricting played a role. Also, too, professional democrats.