Rock on.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Give The People What They Want
I admit I turned on CNN for some flood devastation porn, and all they're providing me with is really stupid missing plane coverage.
Parking's Expensive
Locally, quite often people who just want to preserve the status quo of their neighborhoods - perhaps understandably! - invoke the language of social justice and concerns about affordable housing. Then they demand that new development, unlike their properties, have off street parking. Parking, even just the cost of the land, is expensive. These goals are at odds with each other. Increase the required parking and you increase the cost of units.
I think parking minimums are bad policy in urban areas for a variety of reasons, but even if people think parking is necessary they should get that it inevitably makes housing less affordable.
I think parking minimums are bad policy in urban areas for a variety of reasons, but even if people think parking is necessary they should get that it inevitably makes housing less affordable.
Stand Your Ground
The color of the sky in Wayne LaPierre's world.
So buy some guns, good guys.
We know, in the world that surrounds us, there are terrorists and home invaders and drug cartels and car-jackers and knock-out gamers and rapers, haters, campus killers, airport killers, shopping mall killers, road-rage killers, and killers who scheme to destroy our country with massive storms of violence against our power grids, or vicious waves of chemicals or disease that could collapse the society that sustains us all.
So buy some guns, good guys.
I Don't Care What Their Crimes Are
When reports of the "botched execution" (lovely phrase) in Oklahoma came out, it didn't even occur to me to wonder what the crimes involved were because it didn't matter. Disgust at the actions of the State doesn't have to have anything to do with sympathy for 2 guys (one now dead, one with a stayed execution) who aren't very sympathetic. I don't think the State should have the power to torture and murder its citizens, no matter what they've done. It's really that simple.
Unity
Funny. When labor is organized, even wage earners making millions of dollars, it's easier to act collectively.
NBA players (all of them) were prepared to boycott playoffs, reports ESPN.
(hat tip, FastFoodForward organizer Greg Basta)
NBA players (all of them) were prepared to boycott playoffs, reports ESPN.
(hat tip, FastFoodForward organizer Greg Basta)
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
There's Gambling In The Casino
We're all shocked. Put on your shocked faces.
The U.S. government “created an environment that fostered corruption” in Afghanistan by supporting warlords, relying on private trucking contracts and providing billions of dollars in aid, according to a previously undisclosed Pentagon report.
“Corruption directly threatens the viability and legitimacy of the Afghan state” after a “large-scale culture of impunity” took hold, analysts for the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a 65-page assessment obtained by Bloomberg News. American forces dependent on Afghanistan-based trucking companies found themselves “trapped in a warlord protection racket,” according to the report dated Feb. 28.
Republican Accounting Tricks
Republican governance of New Jersey always involves taking from Pot A to fund Pot B and then dumping the mess into the lap of your successor. But you have to time it just right...
The state's budget gap in New Jersey is widening, and lawmakers are trying to figure out what to do about it.
April's income tax revenues from the state's wealthiest residents are far less than expected, and the overall shortfall for the current fiscal year is $800 million below the Christie administration's projections.
Priorities
The thing about affirmative action in this country is that it barely exists. To the extent that it does exist, it's mostly about somebody making sure that some women and minorities are actually considered for jobs. There have been various schemes in universities at various times, but it's hardly universal and the number of minority students who have actually benefited is pretty small. Then there are some civil service (cops, etc.) exam issues and minority contracting provisions mostly at the local level... that's about it.
As for colleges and universities, well, whatever the intent, legacy admissions tip the scales against minority applicants far more than any affirmative action programs tip the scales towards them. Every now and then I'd like those obsessed with the evils of affirmative action to make this point.
As for colleges and universities, well, whatever the intent, legacy admissions tip the scales against minority applicants far more than any affirmative action programs tip the scales towards them. Every now and then I'd like those obsessed with the evils of affirmative action to make this point.
Trains To Nowhere
Mostly kidding as I really don't know enough about the SunRail route, though from what I can tell there isn't a lot of residential development close to stations. And that might be fine. We build roads to nowhere all the time, and development follows. The key is what kind of development will ultimately be allowed and actually developed. It just isn't worth putting in rail if it primarily follows a park-n-ride model. The more parking spots you have near a station, the harder it is for anyone to live within walking distance.
Everything's Great As Long As You Can Keep Refinancing
But when the music stops...
Earlier in the piece:
I'm going to guess "no."
The takeover of TXU was an audacious transaction that epitomized the golden era of private equity. Buyout firms went on a buying spree, acquiring hotel chains, gambling icons, giant hospital systems and mammoth real estate properties.
When the financial crisis struck, many of these boom-era deals struggled. Still, amid dire predictions, few have actually failed, thanks to their owners’ savvy market movements that allowed them to refinance their mountains of debt at friendly terms over the last two to three years.
Earlier in the piece:
Energy Future will probably be split between its regulated electricity arm, Oncor, and its unregulated power-generation business. The talks had long been stymied by an array of issues, including whether such a split would create a tax bill of more than $7 billion.
I'm going to guess "no."
But they had contemplated a financial maneuver that could have cost Energy Future a multibillion-dollar tax bill, raising the specter of involvement by the Internal Revenue Service.
The matter has since been resolved.
I Just Need To Stop For A Minute
One maddening behavior of urban drivers is the 5 minute rule, that if they're just stopping their cars for a few minutes then they can ignore parking restrictions. Often parking restrictions are there for good reason, like bike lanes or so that buses can get by or turn. But, hey, go ahead and park. It's just for a few minutes.
Morning Thread
George Orwell: "Real journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." I had pretty much forgotten that quote. I wonder if young people ever heard it. Read the rest of the story. It's highly interesting getting this insight from a working reporter.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Civilizing
That Rod Dreher is a horrible person has already been established, so I'll just comment on the "co-ed dorm" thing. I lived in co-ed (as in, rooms alternating by gender) dorms my first couple of years in college and from my experience those bits of the dorm system were much more civilized than the rest. Young men and women actually had to interact regularly in a living situation and not be isolated from each other. In less co-ed dorms (options were single sex by wing, floor, or entire building), I think a lot less mutual acceptance and understanding existed.
Three cheers for co-ed dorms.
Three cheers for co-ed dorms.
Because Derp
I couldn't quite follow the racism doesn't exist but Sterling's really a Democrat so he's actually racist so nyah nyah logic of the wingnuts. I never thought "hah! another racist! this will make Republicans look bad again!" because it wasn't about politics, it was about, you know, a horrible racist who doesn't really have much to do with politics.
Good Luck With That
I'm usually happy to be wrong when I'm inclined to be skeptical about technology, but this google update about their driverless cars doesn't exactly give me much confidence that I am. Driving around Mountain View isn't exactly like driving around Boston or Philadelphia.
Metered
A multifamily rowhouse was rehabbed around the corner from me, and 4 giant utility meters now cover half of the facade at street level. It's really ugly. One outside meter is ok, but requiring them all to be outside is really becoming a problem. There are no setbacks - homes are right on the sidewalk. Hopefully they curtail the practice, and not just in "historic districts."
Robert Samuelson Proves The Olds Are Broke
Even if one allows his somewhat optimistic interpretation of how rich the olds are, they're still poor.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
The Best Of Us
Clearly our billionaire overlords are the best humans civilization has ever produced, so there's really nothing to worry about.
Takers
The racism will deservedly get the attention, but it's useful to get a peek into the mind of the 1%.
Racism is a part of this, too, I think, but the general point is that his employees don't earn their keep. He gives it to them, and they take it from him.
V: Do you know that you have a whole team that's black, that plays for you?
DS: You just, do I know? I support them and give them food, and clothes, and cars, and houses. Who gives it to them? Does someone else give it to them? Do I know that I have—Who makes the game? Do I make the game, or do they make the game? Is there 30 owners, that created the league?
Racism is a part of this, too, I think, but the general point is that his employees don't earn their keep. He gives it to them, and they take it from him.
Duh
The soccer stadium was designed and placed so that nobody who went there had to get anywhere near downtown Chester. People drive in, park, drive out again. That's how these things always work.
Rescue thread
Have a little tune.
Also, I haven't changed my opinion about being told I have to support another DLC troll for the presidency. Remember, the Democratic Leadership Council is just one of the groups the Koch brothers have funded.
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Afternoon Thread
I tried to explain the San Francisco housing market wars in 4 easy graphs and failed
That was my afternoon.
That was my afternoon.
What do you think?
Latest American Economics Review: Do Physicians' Financial Incentives Affect Medical Treatment and Patient Health?
Friday, April 25, 2014
A Little Bit Of Pork Goes A Long Long Way
Make members put their name on it (which they're usually happy to do), but the anti-earmark mania is stupid.
Housing
Hmmm...
It looks like the whole "investment property" idea is losing its charm, probably leaving future slums in its wake, and the banks probably are doing a horrible job of managing all of those foreclosures.
No one is interested in "starter homes" because duh so new construction is all at the high end.
After a roller-coaster decade of boom-bust-boom, the U.S. housing market is going downhill just when many economists thought annual sales would be heading up.
It looks like the whole "investment property" idea is losing its charm, probably leaving future slums in its wake, and the banks probably are doing a horrible job of managing all of those foreclosures.
Nelson would like to buy a smaller home with a lower mortgage payment than the 4,600-square-foot (427-square-meter) house she bought in 2010, moving before her daughter goes to college in two years. A lot of what she sees in her price range under $450,000 isn’t worth a look beyond the Web. A bank-owned home that she described as “horrific” and “disgusting” had a $439,000 asking price.
No one is interested in "starter homes" because duh so new construction is all at the high end.
Hope Is Not A Plan
Philly does have a litter problem, and "don't litter" isn't the answer. Even if no residents ever littered (they do, of course), there are other issues. Visitors litter. If it's windy on trash collection day, stuff from recycling bins and blows around. Stuff from left open commercial dumpsters gets blown around, too. The trash collection people are pretty good in my experience, but they're not perfect about picking up stray items. Who knows who dumps in vacant lots, but they do and there isn't much neighbors can do about it except call the city and hope for the best. That stuff blows around, too.
In a densely populated area, stray trash is a public problem requiring a collective action solution, no matter how diligent the residents are.
In a densely populated area, stray trash is a public problem requiring a collective action solution, no matter how diligent the residents are.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
The Great White Father
The "slavery wasn't so bad, maybe we should bring it back" idea basically comes from the belief the black people can't or won't take care of themselves and that all the secret welfare they get just encourages them to be even more lazy than they'd otherwise be. So perhaps they would just be better off if they were taken care of by the benevolent Great White Father who would "encourage" them to fight their basic nature and work a bit, while making sure they were well taken care of.
Racist and more than a little ignorant of the reality of slavery, but there you go.
Racist and more than a little ignorant of the reality of slavery, but there you go.
Happy Hour
If this post by Meander doesn't have you reaching for a drink, then you're just not paying attention.
It All Comes Back To Bullshit Mountain
Conservative White America, summarized:
"I've been on food stamps and welfare, did anybody help me out? No."
The Poors Definitely Can't Have Nice Things
It isn't the full story, but part of the acceptance of "only poor people get busted for drugs" is based on the idea that the poors don't deserve any "fun" at all. Obviously given addiction issues drug use is a bit more complicated than "fun," but people who have no problem shelling out $50 for a bottle of wine are horrified to see the poors with a six pack of cheap beer. Likewise, upper middle class people who for one reason or another rely on drugs, legal or not, think the poor, with their slightly more acute struggles, must have purity of essence.
LEAVE THE RICH WHITE KIDS ALONE!!!
No I'm not interested in locking people up for most drug offenses, or any overreach by prosecutors, but for some reason "we" only confront these issues when the right sorts of people face them.
Why We Can't Have Nice Things
Because of fear and belief that the blah people will get more nice things than they "deserve."
I imagine soon we'll hear stories of "those people" getting all that free chemotherapy from their Obummercare. Where's my free chemo, huh???
I imagine soon we'll hear stories of "those people" getting all that free chemotherapy from their Obummercare. Where's my free chemo, huh???
The Real Racist
I suppose this gets old at some point, but our politics is ruled by people benefiting from federal largesse who think the real moochers are the blahs who have access to the secret welfare system.
Morning Thread
Here's an interesting post about modern journalism and one reporter's day-to-day experience.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Other People Are Horrible
The term "hipster" used to refer to poor 20somethings who drank PBRs, wore skinny jeans, had beards (the men) and tattoos, worked as bartenders or baristas, and probably were in a band. Then it referred to "rich white people moving into Brooklyn with their two young children." Now it seems to mean "anyone who embraces anything vaguely trendy that I don't like."
The Worst Person In The World
Of course that post title is always a bit tongue-in-cheek, but surely D'Souza is a candidate.
According to The New York Times, D'Souza's lawyer is claiming that the conservative pundit is being "targeted...because of his consistently caustic and highly publicized criticism" of President Obama. (The prosecution has called these claims "entirely without merit.") The Times also reports that prosecutors claim to have a recording made by the husband of a woman D'Souza was "involved with romantically" who was "one of the alleged straw donors." According to the woman, D'Souza said that if he were eventually charged, he might plead not guilty to help "get his story out there":
We Did It Cheaply
One big mistake many American cities made too accommodate the car was to knock down buildings and build surface parking lots, and then later just surround any new building with giant surface parking lots (YMMV depending on precisely which city we're talking about). It isn't as if cities in Yurp didn't have to accommodate cars too, even if they didn't always do it quite as eagerly. A fairly standard feature of European cities are giant municipal underground parking lots. They're often built under big plazas and other attractions. They're neatly tucked away, with signs generously sprinkled around with displays informing you which lots have available spaces.
We spent a lot of money on automobile-related program activities, but we mostly screwed up the last step. Giant underground lots are expensive.
We spent a lot of money on automobile-related program activities, but we mostly screwed up the last step. Giant underground lots are expensive.
Bus Wankers
I don't know enough about Seattle politics or transportation, but service cuts are going to hurt and increase congestion.
Controversy Unleashed
Lead story in the hometown paper.
Followed by a moose controversy.
There has been good Obamacare coverage. Tailor-made subject for local newspapers--anecdotal stories about people helped by the program. Early on, of course, stories about people having trouble signing up. And, lately, coverage of Medicaid expansion, up to the governor's veto.
Followed by a moose controversy.
There has been good Obamacare coverage. Tailor-made subject for local newspapers--anecdotal stories about people helped by the program. Early on, of course, stories about people having trouble signing up. And, lately, coverage of Medicaid expansion, up to the governor's veto.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Younger Than Reagan '80
Not sure I'll ever get over Paul Begala (who I think is actually a good guy) playing nice with Erick son of Erick.
The Final Days Of Colbert Nation
I might be over-interpreting, but since the Letterman gig announcement I think he's been sticking the knife in just a little bit deeper and having fun doing it.
Generation Lead
A suggestion that Kevin (or somebody) should look specifically at domestic violence. That's probably a tough one as changing cultural norms (sadly) are going to impact actual data on that, but my take is that it isn't so much that lead turned people into "criminals," it's that it turned them into violence-prone assholes. Obviously violence is generally a criminal act and domestic violence is hopefully treated as a criminal act, but I guess the point I'm trying to make is that relative to the frequency other violent crimes it's probably a pretty direct measure of "violence-prone assholeness."
I Feel Fine
I'm weirdly an optimist about climate change, or specifically the degree to which it will usher in an era of global devastation. Don't get me wrong, I think it'll be serious and costly, but I also think the time frames generally given give us time to adapt. It's hard to resettle coastal city inhabitants in a 10 year time frame, it's less hard to do so in a 50 year time frame.
My optimism is only relative, of course, and I in no way claim it's correct or that I think we shouldn't be doing something about the issue.
My optimism is only relative, of course, and I in no way claim it's correct or that I think we shouldn't be doing something about the issue.
Wealthy White People From Good Backgrounds Are Never Involved In Crime
And suburban high school students from good schools never take drugs! This WaPo article is a parody of the genre.
And of course newspaper commenters are suddenly sympathetic.
They called the operation the “Main Line take over project.” In terms of intricacy and ambition, it appears more suited for the business pages than the crime blotter.
...
In all, they look like everyday, if wealthy, teens and 20-somethings — perhaps characters out of “The Social Network,” the movie about Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook’s birth. Not the sort to be caught with what investigators say they found: eight pounds of marijuana, 23 grams of cocaine, 11 grams of ecstasy, three grams of hash oil, $11,000 in cash, two AR-15 rifles, one handgun and loads of ammo.
...
“This is a huge story because of the prestige of the schools involved,” one of Brooks’s friends, who requested anonymity, told The Washington Post. “It’s not like this is the first time there has been a drug bust. It’s the uniqueness of the perpetrators.”
...
“The shoulder injury put him down the wrong path,” said the friend, who visited with Brooks at a January party after Brooks had learned prosecutors were investigating him. “His friends were off at college, and he was chilling at home and got bored. The idle mind is a dangerous one.”
And of course newspaper commenters are suddenly sympathetic.
Shit Is Fucked Up And Bullshit
It's a total mystery why people don't buy cars, houses, fancy clothes, or play golf anymore.
For students who borrow on the private market to pay for school, the death of a parent can come with an unexpected, added blow, a federal watchdog warns. Even borrowers who have good payment records can face sudden demands for full, early repayment of those loans, and can be forced into default.
Monday, April 21, 2014
Whatever Pisses Off Liberals
The thing is, the reverse isn't true. I really don't see liberals supporting or opposing things because they imagine it'll piss off conservatives. Oh, sure, we all have a good laugh when Rusty freaks out about something, but I don't think any of us ever think,
"Increased MPG standards will sure piss off Limbaugh! Let's vote for that!"
It's somewhat unrelated, but I'm reminded of when the Last Honest Man In Washington, Joe Lieberman, briefly floated Medicare buy-in at 55 as a kind of compromise for the public option in the ACA. I pleaded with everyone I knew to STFU about it, because of course liberals would have taken that deal. I knew that the instant the greatest man who ever lived got wind of the fact that liberals would actually love that deal he'd back off supporting it, because liberals. And he did.
"Increased MPG standards will sure piss off Limbaugh! Let's vote for that!"
It's somewhat unrelated, but I'm reminded of when the Last Honest Man In Washington, Joe Lieberman, briefly floated Medicare buy-in at 55 as a kind of compromise for the public option in the ACA. I pleaded with everyone I knew to STFU about it, because of course liberals would have taken that deal. I knew that the instant the greatest man who ever lived got wind of the fact that liberals would actually love that deal he'd back off supporting it, because liberals. And he did.
Duty
It isn't too surprising that only "suckers" have been showing up for jury duty all this time, though I'm surprised that there aren't more suckers.
Of course I think people should report for jury duty when it's asked, though I admit I'm not entirely sure what the consequences for not reporting should be.
Of course I think people should report for jury duty when it's asked, though I admit I'm not entirely sure what the consequences for not reporting should be.
Gangnam
Um, what?
Thus, “MTP’s” meltdown has sounded alarm bells inside NBC News and attracted the attention of its new president, Deborah Turness, who arrived from Britain’s ITV News in August. Gregory’s job does not appear to be in any immediate jeopardy, but there are plenty of signs of concern.
Last year, the network undertook an unusual assessment of the 43-year-old journalist, commissioning a psychological consultant to interview his friends and even his wife. The idea, according to a network spokeswoman, Meghan Pianta, was “to get perspective and insight from people who know him best.” But the research project struck some at NBC as odd, given that Gregory has been employed there for nearly 20 years.
Deep Thought
Remember about 5-10 years ago, when adults warned their children that they shouldn't get a college education?
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Our Google Overlords, As Filtered Through The Moustache Of Understanding
I'm starting to think that those who rule of us have no idea what they're talking about.
Well okay then.
Are the liberal arts still important?
They are “phenomenally important,” he said, especially when you combine them with other disciplines. “Ten years ago behavioral economics was rarely referenced. But [then] you apply social science to economics and suddenly there’s this whole new field. I think a lot about how the most interesting things are happening at the intersection of two fields. To pursue that, you need expertise in both fields. You have to understand economics and psychology or statistics and physics [and] bring them together. You need some people who are holistic thinkers and have liberal arts backgrounds and some who are deep functional experts. Building that balance is hard, but that’s where you end up building great societies, great organizations.”
Well okay then.
Saturday, April 19, 2014
That Is Cool
And empires crumble.
...The Aristocrats!
(Disclosure: Although the event was closed to the media, I was invited by the founders of Nexus, Jonah Wittkamper and Rachel Cohen Gerrol, to report on the conference as a member of the family that started the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical company.)
...The Aristocrats!
All The Moneys
Thanks to everyone who contributed! My dream of having gold-plated bathroom fixtures can now finally be achieved!
Seriously, thanks to everyone for their generosity. Final ask of the fundraising season, then back to our regularly scheduled program of sucky blogging.
Seriously, thanks to everyone for their generosity. Final ask of the fundraising season, then back to our regularly scheduled program of sucky blogging.
It's A Complete Mystery Why People Aren't Playing Golf
Could it by that it's really expensive and (probably for the best) we don't build municipal golf courses anymore?
Just a theory. Probably it's the bippity bop and the iphones.
Just a theory. Probably it's the bippity bop and the iphones.
Friday, April 18, 2014
4 Day Work Week
I get that it doesn't work for all companies for many obvious reasons, but it can work for some.
Is Our Elites Learning
The problem with the Lifestyles Of The Not Quite Rich Enough genre is there's never any hint that anyone involved (reporters, subjects) take the next step and think, "oh, gosh, if I can't live on $300K what must it be like to live on $50K!!!!"
The Continuing Series On The Lifestyles Of The Not Quite Rich Enough
It really is a fascinating and slightly gross genre, but I get it. Even the people who came from the right backgrounds and did everything right and have all the right friends are "struggling" to live the life they were supposed to be able to live.
Doing It Wrong
Sweden's deflation is proof that hyperinflation is just around the corner, as always.
BRT Creep
The advantage of BRT is that you can combine segments of a route that have a dedicated lane with segments that don't. Counting operating and ongoing capital costs, the dedicated lane bits aren't really much cheaper than rail, but in theory you can combine express segments with local ones so that buses can make use of existing roads and also the dedicated lanes. Rail obviously can only use the bits you build for it.
But the problem with BRT is always BRT creep. People start deciding that they can save a little money here and there, and that dedicated lanes aren't such a great idea after all, and then you have... a bus.
And buses are great, but they're buses, stuck in traffic like everybody else.
But the problem with BRT is always BRT creep. People start deciding that they can save a little money here and there, and that dedicated lanes aren't such a great idea after all, and then you have... a bus.
And buses are great, but they're buses, stuck in traffic like everybody else.
Gurus
I don't understand this practice of hiring American political "gurus" to advise campaigns in the UK. Politics and the media just are not the same there.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Thursday Night
It appears my local sports franchise is involved in an important puckball competition.
tl;dr
The shorter version of this techcrunch piece on SF housing is that for various policy reasons, the supply of housing in SF is highly inelastic, and there is an odd coalition of interests that are quite happy with that state of affairs.
Allowing more building won't magically halve rents, and the municipalities surrounding SF, specifically areas with BART stations, are probably bigger culprits than SF itself, but as long as demand keeps going up, changing policies to allow more housing construction is the only way at least moderate price/rent increases.
Allowing more building won't magically halve rents, and the municipalities surrounding SF, specifically areas with BART stations, are probably bigger culprits than SF itself, but as long as demand keeps going up, changing policies to allow more housing construction is the only way at least moderate price/rent increases.
#PleaseKillMe
12 years ago I started this sucky little blog, mostly because this "blog" thing seemed to be taking off and it was dominated by conservative assholes and eventheliberals, like every other medium at the time. I figured I could be a liberal asshole on the internet well enough. About that time lots of other people joined in - I'm not really claiming to be a pioneer here. And of course there were the protoblogs, such as the long missing Media Horse and the sadly departed Bartcop.
I can't say this "job" is "hard" relative to the shit most people put up with, but there is something about the constant stress of having to come up with a post every couple of hours. I hit publish and immediately start thinking of what to post next. Yes I know I have a reputation for not writing anything, but writing is the easy part. Having something to say is the hard bit.
Thanks to the community for keeping it interesting. "Internet commenters" have a bad reputation - often deservedly - but they're generally the most interesting part of an interesting site. Without commenters here I would have bored myself to death years ago.
12 years ago I was 30. I am not 30 anymore. It's been a long strange trip!
Consider a wee contribution to keep this going a bit longer. Hopefully we've managed to help change things for the better, just a bit anyway.
I can't say this "job" is "hard" relative to the shit most people put up with, but there is something about the constant stress of having to come up with a post every couple of hours. I hit publish and immediately start thinking of what to post next. Yes I know I have a reputation for not writing anything, but writing is the easy part. Having something to say is the hard bit.
Thanks to the community for keeping it interesting. "Internet commenters" have a bad reputation - often deservedly - but they're generally the most interesting part of an interesting site. Without commenters here I would have bored myself to death years ago.
12 years ago I was 30. I am not 30 anymore. It's been a long strange trip!
Consider a wee contribution to keep this going a bit longer. Hopefully we've managed to help change things for the better, just a bit anyway.
Like a Hurricane
Digby
What she said.
I guess it's just like Ellsberg. They're trying really hard to make this all about Snowden, instead of the actual story, the NSA violating the law and lying about their activities. This approach sorta worked with Assange, but the Pulitzer is proof certain that it hasn't worked this time 'round.
What she said.
I guess it's just like Ellsberg. They're trying really hard to make this all about Snowden, instead of the actual story, the NSA violating the law and lying about their activities. This approach sorta worked with Assange, but the Pulitzer is proof certain that it hasn't worked this time 'round.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
The Tyranny Of Affirmative Action
In almost all of its manifestations "affirmative action" (distinct from legacy admissions and the good old boy network) simply ensures that there's someone in the room who makes sure that this doesn't happen.
Assholes
Pareene:
Basically what I was getting at here. But, no, assholes don't necessarily get anything done, and if they do it's probably some pretty assholic stuff.
Susana Martinez seems like a bad governor, and she would be a bad president, for most of the same reasons that George W. Bush was a bad president, but she is just another exemplar of America’s long and proud tradition of elevating assholes to high positions because they seem like they get things done.
Basically what I was getting at here. But, no, assholes don't necessarily get anything done, and if they do it's probably some pretty assholic stuff.
The Bluggerz
I was reminded the other day about how one reason the press were totally freaked out by Howard Dean's presidential campaign was that it had a blog...and the bloggers just posted anything they wanted! Without being vetted!!! By, uh, whomever was supposed to do the vetting!
It took awhile for me to understand this. Campaigns hire communications staff who... communicate. They don't run everything by the candidate or the campaign chief of staff or whatever. Maybe the bloggers were "young" but Washington and election campaigns are filled with young people. So what was the issue?
Bypassing the middleman - the press.
It took awhile for me to understand this. Campaigns hire communications staff who... communicate. They don't run everything by the candidate or the campaign chief of staff or whatever. Maybe the bloggers were "young" but Washington and election campaigns are filled with young people. So what was the issue?
Bypassing the middleman - the press.
Anniversary Week Fundraising Fun House Day 3!
Actual blog anniversary is tomorrow! Exciting!!!
Thanks to all who have contributed!
Thanks to all who have contributed!
Must Be Nice
I have no idea what the normal range of human self-doubt is, or where my personal level falls in that range, but envy the man whose beautiful mind thinks like this.
The billions probably help a bit.
The billions probably help a bit.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Hillary Clinton Revolution
I'm not comparing Clinton to either Ron Paul or Mike Gravel (or, earlier, Ross Perot), but I do agree that the idea that young people are looking to vote for a young is pretty silly. Paul, Gravel, and Perot all had a strange amount of young supporters. I'm not exactly sure why, but...
Money Well Spent
I actually care about the civil liberties more, but I still keep coming back to the fact that all this stuff is just a colossal waste of resources.
The New York Police Department has abandoned a secretive program that dispatched plainclothes detectives into Muslim neighborhoods to eavesdrop on conversations and built detailed files on where people ate, prayed and shopped, the department said.
The decision by the nation’s largest police force to shutter the surveillance program represents the first sign that William J. Bratton, the department’s new commissioner, is backing away from some of the post-9/11 intelligence-gathering practices of his predecessor. The move comes as the federal government reconsiders and re-evaluates some of its post-9/11 policies, including the National Security Agency’s bulk data collection.
Make Jeff Bezos Give Me Money
Can't afford it? Just don't want to contribute? All fine. But if you shop at Amazon and might enjoy giving some of that money to me instead of Jeff Bezos, just click on this link or the ad at the lower right, or search bar to the left, before you make a purchase.
Probably best if my drone army is funded before Jeff's is.
Probably best if my drone army is funded before Jeff's is.
The Road Not Taken
I'm not normally one to cheer on the troubles of higher education. Most of my friends are academics, after all, and I was one. But there's something about the problems of law schools, places long immune from normal academic standards, with inflated salaries due, in part, to the belief that the Profs could magically get jobs as partners at Big Law if only they weren't making big sacrifices for their students.
Don't get me wrong. To the extent that law schools are cash cows, I'm happy for the profs to collect the moneys, much in the same way I'm happy for baseball players to collect the moneys instead of the owners, but when the money dries up...
Don't get me wrong. To the extent that law schools are cash cows, I'm happy for the profs to collect the moneys, much in the same way I'm happy for baseball players to collect the moneys instead of the owners, but when the money dries up...
Luxury Car Services
I suppose as an urbanist I'm supposed to embrace new things like Uber. I think there are good reasons to have a well-regulated taxi market in cities. Pricing should be transparent. Revenues should be such that a hail-able cab market exists in the denser parts of the city.
But, aside from all of that, I am so tired of people complaining about freaking Uber. It's like everyone is discovering that their new boyfriend is a jerk, but maybe next time he'll be nicer. Let it go.
It's a luxury car service.
But, aside from all of that, I am so tired of people complaining about freaking Uber. It's like everyone is discovering that their new boyfriend is a jerk, but maybe next time he'll be nicer. Let it go.
It's a luxury car service.
Anniversary Week Fundraising Fun House Day Two!
Thanks to all who have contributed so far. Consider a wee contribution.
The Maths
Graduate with six figures in debt. Pay those loans off while saving for your retirement and a downpayment.
How's this supposed to work again?
How's this supposed to work again?
Ban Law Schools
Not that long ago I met someone who said she was $200K in debt from law school with no realistic hope of getting the kind of high paying job that can service that debt. I'd heard the numbers before, of course, but meeting an actual human in that situation brought it home a bit more.
I really don't understand how people of immense privilege can fail to see the reality of the con they're running, or how more generally people bitching about the kids today and their iphones and bippity bop don't get how even people who supposedly did the right thing (as their elders advised them to) are starting life basically screwed. 25 with a mortgage without a house attached to it.
I really don't understand how people of immense privilege can fail to see the reality of the con they're running, or how more generally people bitching about the kids today and their iphones and bippity bop don't get how even people who supposedly did the right thing (as their elders advised them to) are starting life basically screwed. 25 with a mortgage without a house attached to it.
Some Sanity Returns
This whole thing was just nuts.
The Social Security Administration announced Monday that it will immediately cease efforts to collect on taxpayers’ debts to the government that are more than 10 years old.
The action comes after The Washington Post reported that the government was seizing state and federal tax refunds that were on their way to about 400,000 Americans who had relatives who owed money to the Social Security agency. In many cases, the people whose refunds were intercepted had never heard of any debt, and the debts dated as far back as the middle of the past century.
What's Next
Absent economic downturn - which could happen! - I expect the deficit will continue to shrink.
It's your money, people. It'll be tax cut time.
It's your money, people. It'll be tax cut time.
CoT: Lifeblood of the Pundits
Translation. And exegesis.
In case you were wondering, policy discussion is not the source of pundit power.
In case you were wondering, policy discussion is not the source of pundit power.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Huzzah
Civilization returns, at least a bit.
Getting rid of all night service was more of a security issue than a financial one, and I'm curious whether it will really cost (net) all that much more than the night buses.
I'm old and I'm never out this late, but for service workers, early shift workers, and, yes, drunk people who shouldn't be driving, this is good.
SEPTA will restore all-night subway service on Fridays and Saturdays, at least temporarily, beginning in June, officials said Monday.
SEPTA's proposed new operating budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 includes several hundred thousand dollars to run the Broad Street subway and the Market-Frankford subway-elevated line all night on Fridays and Saturdays.
Getting rid of all night service was more of a security issue than a financial one, and I'm curious whether it will really cost (net) all that much more than the night buses.
I'm old and I'm never out this late, but for service workers, early shift workers, and, yes, drunk people who shouldn't be driving, this is good.
Recognized
I never really understood how the key parts of DOMA and the refusal of states to recognize same sex marriages performed elsewhere were ever thought to be constitutional. Whether or not states (either due to federal or their own constitutions) are required to issue licenses to people is perhaps a more complicated legal question, but those things just seemed to be obvious.
A federal judge in Ohio on Monday ruled against the state law barring recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages, although the order is temporarily stayed until state officials take further action.
In a 45-page decision, U.S. District Judge Timothy Black determined the Ohio law barring recognition of out-of-state same-sex weddings violates protections under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Anniversary Week Fundraising Funhouse!
12 years of attempting to be moderately interesting all day every day. Not all that easy for an introvert.
Consider a wee contribution in honor of this historic milestone.
Consider a wee contribution in honor of this historic milestone.
You Aren't Stuck In Traffic, You Are Traffic
I'm not sure which group of people annoys me more, new arrivals to urban neighborhoods who fret about gentrification (gentrifiers against gentrification), or people who live in exclusionary zoning neighborhoods that zone out poor people entirely who fret about urban gentrification.
Divorce Isn't Easy
Even amicable, mutually agreed on, childless (no custody agreement necessary), no fault divorce is a giant pain in the ass. People wanting to make it harder should understand that it's already pretty hard, even in the best of circumstances.
But What Has Been Done For Eschaton World Industries?
It isn't that any of this is a surprise, but it's a reminder of who the government works for.
...adding, I should explain better. ZOMG CLINTON HELPS BOEING should be understood in broader context of US GOVERNMENT HELPS BIG BIZNESS.
...adding, I should explain better. ZOMG CLINTON HELPS BOEING should be understood in broader context of US GOVERNMENT HELPS BIG BIZNESS.
Armchair Revolutionaries
Not that I support what they're doing, but I at least have a tiny bit of respect for the guys who actually do get out there with their guns to defend TEH FREEDOM relative to the armchair warriors who cheer them on.
I just hate armchair revolutionaries all across the political spectrum. If you really think violence is the solution, then you first.
I just hate armchair revolutionaries all across the political spectrum. If you really think violence is the solution, then you first.
What Is Affordable Housing
Everybody agrees it's a good thing, that it's something we should be concerned about in gentrifying neighborhoods, but people are rarely very clear on what they mean other than "build housing that people can afford." Well, yes, ok, but...
The cost of new housing, as opposed to the price, is roughly land acquisition+construction costs (I'll leave out financing for simplicity). If housing is priced below that, someone has to eat the difference.
The price of housing can certainly be higher than actual cost, particularly in places with rising land prices. People who have been sitting on empty lots that were once worthless but are now in gentrifying areas are getting a windfall. That is, their land acquisition costs are minimal but the price they can charge, reflecting the current market value of the land, is much higher.
Providing more affordable housing means building cheaper units (smaller, multi-family, denser up to a point, fewer amenities, no off-street parking), or subsidizing them for people, or both.
The gentrification wars in Philly are just weird, and well, mostly not what they seem. There isn't a big push for building cheaper units, there's just a desire to block development. And, yes, mandate parking when development does happen.
Philly isn't San Francisco. Here, building more is the most straightforward way to lower prices/rents. Sure building more can speed very localized gentrification and land price increases, but generally the way to respond to demand increases is to increase the supply.
The cost of new housing, as opposed to the price, is roughly land acquisition+construction costs (I'll leave out financing for simplicity). If housing is priced below that, someone has to eat the difference.
The price of housing can certainly be higher than actual cost, particularly in places with rising land prices. People who have been sitting on empty lots that were once worthless but are now in gentrifying areas are getting a windfall. That is, their land acquisition costs are minimal but the price they can charge, reflecting the current market value of the land, is much higher.
Providing more affordable housing means building cheaper units (smaller, multi-family, denser up to a point, fewer amenities, no off-street parking), or subsidizing them for people, or both.
The gentrification wars in Philly are just weird, and well, mostly not what they seem. There isn't a big push for building cheaper units, there's just a desire to block development. And, yes, mandate parking when development does happen.
Philly isn't San Francisco. Here, building more is the most straightforward way to lower prices/rents. Sure building more can speed very localized gentrification and land price increases, but generally the way to respond to demand increases is to increase the supply.
Anniversary Week!!!
Oh my, has it been (almost) 12 years already? Time does fly. It seems like only yesterday...oh, who am I kidding. It seems like 500 years ago I started this sucky blog.
Hopefully it still has utility and every now and then changes the world just a tiny bit. Or, at the very least, gives some of you a place to hang out and shoot the shit.
Consider a wee anniversary week contribution if you can afford it!
Hopefully it still has utility and every now and then changes the world just a tiny bit. Or, at the very least, gives some of you a place to hang out and shoot the shit.
Consider a wee anniversary week contribution if you can afford it!
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Public Doesn't Mean Public Square
I've screwed this one up before, but it's important for people to get that because things on the internet are largely "public", it doesn't mean that they should necessarily be broadcast on the evening news. That you can see into someone's window when you're walking by doesn't mean you should take pictures and put them on the internets.
There will never be any clear rules, and some people might be "public figures" in some spheres but not others, but those of us with spotlights shouldn't always shine them.
There will never be any clear rules, and some people might be "public figures" in some spheres but not others, but those of us with spotlights shouldn't always shine them.
Giant Pink Houses
My house in the urban hellhole is larger than it needs to be, large enough to know that I really wouldn't want it to be any larger. The only reason I can fathom wanting a giant house, unless you've Duggar-sized your family, is because you entertain/have guests a lot. I just don't think most people do.
Things That Sadly Are Not True
If only it could be revealed that the New York Times Style section has actually been fiction penned by Andy Kaufman for the past several decades, and then he shuts it down with one final entry:
The Aristocrats!
The Kids Today
We dealt them a crap hand, and then we yell at them to get off our lawns what with their bippity bop and their iphones.
But we do so love our children.
But we do so love our children.
Thread
If you need something to read or listen to or look at, I just posted a week's worth of links, y'all can go over and correct my typoes, or at least listen to some politics or music and look at some pictures and stuff.
Saturday, April 12, 2014
niMby
Not disinterested here, but one wonders whether these guys are making the right calculation:
Americans might wish to think harder about views and how to keep them. Maybe the marketplace can help in this case. The LG project will turn off countless customers by despoiling a cherished landmark. It will be a constant reminder on the skyline to shop Samsung. You’d think the company’s bosses wouldn’t want to look bad, compared with their rival.
The [Samsung corporate headquarters] project in San Jose is thoughtful.
LG’s is a public shame.
Afternoon Thread
Thanks to a hat/tip from V, I've been quite enjoying Rake. It is not nearly as dark as most crime shows, and really quite amusing at times.
Blogofascism
Shorter discourse on the internet since I can remember:
Credentialed Elite: People who disagree with me cannot even be said to have the boorish manner of Yalies.
The rest of us: Oh fuck off you stupid git.
Credentialed Elite: I am horrified at your opposition to civilized discourse.
Your Jargon, My Jargon
I'm a fan of jargon. I spent enough time in academia to understand its utility. I get that it can be abused, that incomprehensible jargon can be used to cover up sloppy thinking and writing. I also get that its use can exclude a wider audience, so one must keep that in mind when using it, especially if you wish to reach that audience.
Still it has a purpose. It can be used to add words which provide needed specificity which are otherwise absent in the language, or as simple shorthand to invoke broader concepts
So, jargon away! But I do have one pet peeve about some jargon-users: people who don't understand or properly use your jargon are not necessarily stupid. Failure to use proper jargon is evidence of nothing more than a failure to have learned that jargon. I'd mark down a student who failed to use terminology correctly on an econ exam, but life is not an econ exam. Sure people can get things wrong, but simply getting the jargon wrong doesn't necessarily mean they don't know what they're talking about.
Still it has a purpose. It can be used to add words which provide needed specificity which are otherwise absent in the language, or as simple shorthand to invoke broader concepts
So, jargon away! But I do have one pet peeve about some jargon-users: people who don't understand or properly use your jargon are not necessarily stupid. Failure to use proper jargon is evidence of nothing more than a failure to have learned that jargon. I'd mark down a student who failed to use terminology correctly on an econ exam, but life is not an econ exam. Sure people can get things wrong, but simply getting the jargon wrong doesn't necessarily mean they don't know what they're talking about.
Friday, April 11, 2014
What's It All About Then
A big justification our lovely chaps in the surveillance state use for their existence is CYBERSECURITY. So when they're aware of the bug that completely breaks the internet, do they take steps to try to get it fixed or do they just use it?
Take a guess.
...adding, this is an obvious point, but I think probably a very important one that won't get quite enough attention.
Take a guess.
...adding, this is an obvious point, but I think probably a very important one that won't get quite enough attention.
Blaze Of Glory
Final few months to really put the knife in.
Full disclosure: I am a member of the grievance industry because Colbert producers once contacted me about being on the show and then it didn't happen. (I'm not that interested in doing TV generally - too much time and work for too little - but that would have been fun.)
Full disclosure: I am a member of the grievance industry because Colbert producers once contacted me about being on the show and then it didn't happen. (I'm not that interested in doing TV generally - too much time and work for too little - but that would have been fun.)
Fighting Back
I get Kevin's point, but "Teh Left" didn't "start" the culture wars, they just finally started to win them.
The Pool's Not Crowded, Everybody Jump In!
It's probably time to ban law schools.
As people point out, this comment by Drexel Law prof Lisa McElroy is stunning.
As people point out, this comment by Drexel Law prof Lisa McElroy is stunning.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
So?
I usually don't pay much attention to Sully, but this came across the desk. Neither "Heartland America" nor "Limbaugh" have any reason to care if someone is a practicing Catholic. The supposed Heartland isn't exactly the center of Catholicism in this country, and Limbaugh is a professed, if hardly (by accounts) practicing, Methodist.
If the point is any US conservative should be thrilled simply because somebody is a professed Christian...well, ok, but, uh....
If the point is any US conservative should be thrilled simply because somebody is a professed Christian...well, ok, but, uh....
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Bad day at the casino.
Economy has clearly improved, but it's a new normal of people having too much debt and not good enough jobs - or expected career paths - to expect to live out that American Dream. People aren't buying houses! Casual clothing is trendy! People are buying dogs instead of having babies!
All a big mystery.
Economy has clearly improved, but it's a new normal of people having too much debt and not good enough jobs - or expected career paths - to expect to live out that American Dream. People aren't buying houses! Casual clothing is trendy! People are buying dogs instead of having babies!
All a big mystery.
Even If "Stephen Colbert" Will Soon Retire
I see no reason we can't have the occasional Even Stepvhen bit.
...Rusty's mad. I bet Papa Bear will freak.
...Rusty's mad. I bet Papa Bear will freak.
People Do Like Jerks - They Elected Them
As I get older and sometimes wiser, I gain a better understanding of the basic psychology of why people want to put jerks in charge. Essentially, people believe the jerks will go kick some asses - the right asses - and make things better. In politics this is about jerks not giving all of those undeserving people your hard earned tax dollars. In universities it's about making sure your lazy colleagues, who most certainly don't do as much or as good work as you do, stop getting coddled.
Of course jerks aren't necessarily competent, and they are, well, jerks. They don't necessarily have a good sense of just which, or how many, asses to kick.
Of course jerks aren't necessarily competent, and they are, well, jerks. They don't necessarily have a good sense of just which, or how many, asses to kick.
The South
Just to make an additional point related to this, I lived in Yurp during the time leading up to the adoption of the Euro. Without getting too much into all of the issues, the basic problem was that southern Europe was poorer than northern Europe. European money was being redistributed to the poorer relations for infrastructure upgrades and similar in order to try to pull them along a bit faster.
While it was true that The South was poorer, in general terms, it was also the case that there was some sense (among ruling elites in the North) that this was simply the natural order of things. Yes, yes, we'll let our poor relatives come live in the carriage house, but inevitably they're just going to keep it dirty and let the roof cave in.
So when the crisis hit, "of course" the poor relatives were to blame and well we expected this and I guess it's time for them to learn their lessons. Arguably Greece (as an entity, not all Greeks) were somewhat to blame, but Spain really didn't do anything they weren't supposed to do.
The ECB would have behaved differently if the crisis had been concentrated in the wealthier bits, because they of course wouldn't have been to blame.
While it was true that The South was poorer, in general terms, it was also the case that there was some sense (among ruling elites in the North) that this was simply the natural order of things. Yes, yes, we'll let our poor relatives come live in the carriage house, but inevitably they're just going to keep it dirty and let the roof cave in.
So when the crisis hit, "of course" the poor relatives were to blame and well we expected this and I guess it's time for them to learn their lessons. Arguably Greece (as an entity, not all Greeks) were somewhat to blame, but Spain really didn't do anything they weren't supposed to do.
The ECB would have behaved differently if the crisis had been concentrated in the wealthier bits, because they of course wouldn't have been to blame.
Crisis
Euro countries only ever had debt crisis problems because the ECB decided they should. The fact that Greece can now borrow fairly cheaply means little more than at some point they ECB changed its mind.
The economy is still in crisis.
The economy is still in crisis.
Wednesday, April 09, 2014
Empty Seats Behind Home Plate
I had a chance to get in on a slice of behind home plate season tickets, and I turned them down because I was a wee bit broke at the time. I "knew" I could sell them all for a profit - a belief that might not have turned out to be true given the recent performance of my local sports franchise - but figured someone who might want to actually attend/pay for all (most) of the games should join the club.
Years ago, a friend of mine who had a slice of season tickets which weren't behind home plate, but were pretty good, explained it this way. However the tickets were allocated in their season ticket club, he made it his priority to make sure to get a few of the "special nights." Home opener, firework night, that sort of thing. He explained that there were enough rich people out there who would basically pay anything for the "best" seats they could get their hands on for such events, and he could fund the rest of his games by selling those tickets.
But, yes, empty seats behind home plate look pretty stupid on the teevee. They'd better figure that one out.
Years ago, a friend of mine who had a slice of season tickets which weren't behind home plate, but were pretty good, explained it this way. However the tickets were allocated in their season ticket club, he made it his priority to make sure to get a few of the "special nights." Home opener, firework night, that sort of thing. He explained that there were enough rich people out there who would basically pay anything for the "best" seats they could get their hands on for such events, and he could fund the rest of his games by selling those tickets.
But, yes, empty seats behind home plate look pretty stupid on the teevee. They'd better figure that one out.
Still At It
This is just a stripper, but I have heard tales of family members going out of their way to block prostitutes and other liaisons that their elderly parents might be pursuing while residents of nursing homes.
Let your parents have their fun. (Yes I know there are legal and other issues with prostitution, but in the stories I've heard the motive was just prudery).
Let your parents have their fun. (Yes I know there are legal and other issues with prostitution, but in the stories I've heard the motive was just prudery).
Heartbleed
No idea, of course, but it wouldn't surprise me if the NSA broke the internet in the name of saving it.
They seem to do what they do because they can, not because there's ever really any point.
They seem to do what they do because they can, not because there's ever really any point.
A Stadium In The Contemporary City
Yes a more centrally located baseball stadium would have been better, but only if done right. And by "done right" I mean done without massive amounts of nearby parking. That was/is unlikely, as people concerned with traffic and parking tend to think the solution is more parking. The real solution is to tell people to take the damn subway or train. The Nationals basically did that with their ballpark, but I can't see it happening here.
Pose
I imagine that as we near the post-Obama era, a lot of the "even the liberal" commentariat, who became a bit more genuinely liberal in order to brush off their collected Bush cooties, will revert to form. We'll get the anguished think pieces about who to vote for in 2016, even more bothsidesdoit opinionating, more hippie punching, etc.
Nice Work
Whether or not there's actual fraud highlighted here, our medical billing practices are nuts.
Among the highest billers were a cardiologist in Ocala, Fla., who took in $18.1 million, mainly putting in stents. A New Jersey pathologist who received $12.6 million performing tissue exams and other tests. And a Michigan vascular surgeon who got $10.1 million.
Some of the highest billing totals may simply reflect a physician who is extremely efficient or who has an unusually large number of Medicare patients.
Progress
It's always weird when people speak of a market solution to medical care provision in reference to the US system of oligopoly, anti-trust exemption and government price fixing, the last done behind closed doors. The real problem in the US health care system is that participants pay about twice as much for a procedure as does the rest of the OECD.
That the government is releasing previously secret data on Medicare utilization and expenditure is progress.
That the government is releasing previously secret data on Medicare utilization and expenditure is progress.
Tuesday, April 08, 2014
Good Public Services
It helps if the Feds are picking up most of the tab, but maybe one day we'll return to a world in which state and local governments get that providing decent public services, and not just subsidies for jaaayyyaaab creaaaturrzzz, is a good way to attract jobs and people.
Private and Public
Post-Monica Madness I thought all of these things were fair game. But it's been a long time, and such press reports don't just expose the clear public figure politician, but also the not so clear politician staffer. Obviously the best solution is for politicians to stop emphasizing this bullshit "morality," but I hope that when they do the press leaves it alone.
Free Labor Sportsball Season Ends, New One Starts Soon
I don't want to be the overly sanctimonious lefty who is always telling you to boycott this or that or to refrain from economic activities which I, personally, find it easy to avoid but you don't (some people misinterpret, but I really don't lecture on things like driving). But I am increasingly mystified by liberals who alternate posts about college sports with their hatred of the exploitation of the NCAA. Stop watching! It's the least you can do! And unlike most boycotts, the negative impacts on the actual workers are negligible because the workers don't get paid anyway.
Nobody gives a shit about your bracket, your fantasy football team, or your office betting pool. Just let it go. There's plenty of other professional sportsball leagues. They aren't perfect, either, but at least the minimum salaries aren't so bad.
Nobody gives a shit about your bracket, your fantasy football team, or your office betting pool. Just let it go. There's plenty of other professional sportsball leagues. They aren't perfect, either, but at least the minimum salaries aren't so bad.
Monday, April 07, 2014
Before It Falls Down
I can't possibly know, but I do imagine there are engineers at my local transit authority who can't sleep at night because they worry about the City Hall station, and the City Hall above it, collapsing. Finally there's money.
It's Always Crappy In Philadelphia
I like to divide places (can be, similarly, sports teams, etc.) into 3 classes. First class cities are where they "know" they're the greatest place in the universe and don't spend much time thinking about other places. I'm looking at you, New York. Second class cities where they're constantly making comparisons and alternating between dreaming of being a "world class city" and asserting that they are. And, then, 3rd class places like the urban hellhole where we know it sucks and we just don't give a shit.
The Greatest Trick
Krugman doesn't make it explicit enough that for a hell of a lot of people in this country, the inflation of the 70s was completely awesome. Anybody who got a mortgage and bought a house at the right time made out like a bandit. Sure if money's tight inflation's going to seem like a pretty horrible thing as things become more and more unaffordable, if wages aren't rising with prices as they're sort of supposed to, but those with 30-year fixed year mortgages should've been smart enough to know that they had been given a tremendous gift.
The Definition Of White Supremacy
One maddening thing about Charles Murray fans is that most of them aren't willing to accept the basic fact that to be a Bell Curve believer, you are by definition a white supremacist, or at least a believer in a racial hierarchy. They can console themselves with the "fact" that Teh Science says it's true!!! (not really), but that doesn't change what it is.
As Sullivan wrote once upon a time:
Actually it is. You can tell yourself it's a correct belief, but it's pretty much the definition of a racist belief.
As Sullivan wrote once upon a time:
The notion that there might be resilient ethnic differences in intelligence is not, we believe, an inherently racist belief.
Actually it is. You can tell yourself it's a correct belief, but it's pretty much the definition of a racist belief.
Meddling Kids
I think mistermix gets this right.
Marriage equality was supposed to be a "conservative" gay rights issue. And, yes, more lefty queer people (speaking generally) weren't initially thrilled with it becoming the central gay rights issue of our time. As homophobia is the last truly acceptable bigotry (deeply held sincere beliefs!!!), conservatives were never going to be on the correct side of that issue, no matter how many times Glenn Reynolds tells us that Dick Cheney was a gay marriage pioneer.
Politics is such messy business for the principled conservative. Sometimes you must agree with the liberals. It’s a necessary evil, like mass transit or the tiniest social safety net imaginable. But, in order to keep calling yourself a “conservative”, you need to search under the couch cushions for your last Xanax and retire to a dark room with a cold compress as soon as liberals start exercising a wee bit of political power.
Marriage equality was supposed to be a "conservative" gay rights issue. And, yes, more lefty queer people (speaking generally) weren't initially thrilled with it becoming the central gay rights issue of our time. As homophobia is the last truly acceptable bigotry (deeply held sincere beliefs!!!), conservatives were never going to be on the correct side of that issue, no matter how many times Glenn Reynolds tells us that Dick Cheney was a gay marriage pioneer.
Don't Know What The Solution Is
But, yes, whatever the direct or indirect cause, cheap heroin and similar is a problem.
The case for marijuana decriminalization (and outright legalization, too) is easy, but what to do about other drugs is a bit more tricky. Criminal punishment for use is ridiculous, but more generally I don't know what the answers are.
The case for marijuana decriminalization (and outright legalization, too) is easy, but what to do about other drugs is a bit more tricky. Criminal punishment for use is ridiculous, but more generally I don't know what the answers are.
Working for the Forever Weekend
The reality of life in the Brave New Economy of the 21st Century.
Tara Dublin is by the way a creative, energetic, and hilarious person, and someone I met today because certain wingnuts decided to gang up on her on Twitter. Give her love here.
In March, of the 192,000 jobs created, 30,000 were in food services. Restaurants and bars have added 323,000 workers over the past year, but Dublin is earning a fraction of what she used to make.
"The first time I came home and saw a foreclosure notice taped to my front door and my sons saw it, that was a really bad day," Dublin says.This is nothing to do with "hard work"; this is to do with a massive public policy failure. Our Rulers have rejected an America of opportunity, preferring instead an America of Scroogery.
Tara Dublin is by the way a creative, energetic, and hilarious person, and someone I met today because certain wingnuts decided to gang up on her on Twitter. Give her love here.
Sunday, April 06, 2014
Mumble, Grumble
Missing a form to do the taxes. Guess I'll just file for an extension tomorrow.
Have my earworm. It goes well with Happy Hour.
Have my earworm. It goes well with Happy Hour.
Hysteria
We are (were) ruled by the world's worst humans.
On "Fox News Sunday," Hayden cited comments Feinstein made last month in which she said she said declassifying the report "ensure that an un-American, brutal program of detention and interrogation will never again be considered or permitted."
Hayden suggested Feinstein's emotions are getting the better of her.
"That sentence -- that motivation for the report -- may show deep, emotional feeling on the part of the senator, but I don't think it leads you to an objective report," Hayden said.
Saturday, April 05, 2014
Around And Around We Go
Every once in awhile we have to rediscover the fact that Andrew Sullivan is horrible.
Clean The Damn Streets
I'm a bad person for not participating in the regular annual or semi-annual citizen street cleaning activities here in the urban hellhole, but it's really time for the powers that be to recognize that cleaning the damn streets is part of their responsibility. Volunteerism is lovely, but it isn't a substitute for regular and guaranteed government action. Also, too, street cleaning machines.
The practice of setting up special business tax districts with an additional layer of bureaucracy and enforcement/collection mechanisms to do these things in the few neighborhoods where it happens is highly inefficient. Buy some machines, hire some people.
The practice of setting up special business tax districts with an additional layer of bureaucracy and enforcement/collection mechanisms to do these things in the few neighborhoods where it happens is highly inefficient. Buy some machines, hire some people.
And The World Didn't End
I've been puzzled by the belief that increasing the gas tax would be political DOOM for everybody involved. There was a time when that might have been true, but given the level of gas prices and the degree of "normal" price fluctuations, I just don't see people really noticing.
Of course some people will notice. It's a regressive tax, and people who don't have any money notice the price of anything. I just mean that it won't sweep people out of office.
Within five years, if wholesalers pass on the full increase to consumers, that could increase the gas tax by about 28 cents a gallon, from 31.2 cents a gallon in 2013 to 59.2 cents by 2018.
Of course some people will notice. It's a regressive tax, and people who don't have any money notice the price of anything. I just mean that it won't sweep people out of office.
Flying Death Robots
Brave new world.
Military officials say an unmanned aerial vehicle, commonly known as a drone, crashed near a central Pennsylvania school and a hotel.
Friday, April 04, 2014
Do The Maths
I'm generally not one who thinks that "voters are stupid" is a reason that My Preferred Agenda is not being implemented. People disagree about stuff, and while it's certainly the case that people sometimes vote against their apparent direct interests... so do I! You can take my tax dollars to educate other people's rugrats.
But parking is an issue that just makes people stupid. I realized this when it was apparent that local developers had an easier time getting neighborhood approval for projects if those projects included street facing garages because of parking concerns. Realize that street facing garages remove one public parking spot and replace it with a private one. If you're concerned about your ability to find a parking space, this is unequivocally a negative. But those concerned with parking were happy that these developments "provided" parking...by taking away public parking. And, yes, the width of one Philly rowhouse is basically one parking space.
Existing residents who don't have private parking spaces want any new development to provide massive amounts of parking. Parking takes up an immense amount of public space. It shouldn't be free. It shouldn't be cheap. In much of the city it's free, and everywhere else it's extremely cheap, and people think they're entitled to this.
But parking is an issue that just makes people stupid. I realized this when it was apparent that local developers had an easier time getting neighborhood approval for projects if those projects included street facing garages because of parking concerns. Realize that street facing garages remove one public parking spot and replace it with a private one. If you're concerned about your ability to find a parking space, this is unequivocally a negative. But those concerned with parking were happy that these developments "provided" parking...by taking away public parking. And, yes, the width of one Philly rowhouse is basically one parking space.
Existing residents who don't have private parking spaces want any new development to provide massive amounts of parking. Parking takes up an immense amount of public space. It shouldn't be free. It shouldn't be cheap. In much of the city it's free, and everywhere else it's extremely cheap, and people think they're entitled to this.
It's Still Sunny In Philadelphia
Huzzah. It's been renewed.
Supposedly the show was pitched as "Seinfeld on crack," which in a way it is, but it's also very different. It pulls off the trick of doing cringe comedy without making you actually cringe. The characters are horrible and bring all sorts of indignities on themselves but they're horrible enough that you don't care. You get to laugh at them.
Supposedly the show was pitched as "Seinfeld on crack," which in a way it is, but it's also very different. It pulls off the trick of doing cringe comedy without making you actually cringe. The characters are horrible and bring all sorts of indignities on themselves but they're horrible enough that you don't care. You get to laugh at them.
My First Amendment Right To Be A Wealthy CEO Has Been Violated
And Dave Winer continues to be the internet's worst person.
As Long As Everybody's Getting Rich
We spend so much money on things which are, at best, stupid.
Mercenaries are, you know, mercenaries.
Quite apart from the rights or wrongs of the U.S. government using commercial social media for espionage or to organize political subversion in Cuba, the case presents another troubling issue: ZunZuneo was being run through a private operator, a firm called Mobile Accord, that had won a financial contract from the U.S. government. This is consistent with a growing pattern in recent years, in which implementation of the most sensitive aspects of American security policy is increasingly handed over to contractors who are working for money, not necessarily for philosophical or even patriotic reasons. The mercenary firm Blackwater, renamed XE and then Academi (after earning notoriety in the killing of seventeen Iraqis in Baghdad’s Nisour Square, in 2007), has effectively become an action arm of the C.I.A., its personnel loading the missiles on the drones that are fired at presumed terrorists based on White House decisions. Clearly, there are risks to this ever-expanding outsourcing. That outraged patriot who divulged the N.S.A.’s secrets was first a C.I.A. and then an N.S.A. contractor.
Mercenaries are, you know, mercenaries.
You'd Understand If You Had Daughters
No, actually, I wouldn't. I don't know why so many people lose all memory of their teenager lives.
Thursday, April 03, 2014
Confiscate
As Pareene says, if you're worried about rich people spending too much money in politics, the solution is to take away their moneys.
Evening Thread
I'll never say who, but I once saw a prominent lefty (his speechwriter, presumably) rip off this bit almost directly for a speech.
Totebagging
On NPR, Donna Shalala informed me that the NCAA cartel's practice of restricting athlete wages to $0 while letting unlimited monies flow to coaches, staff, and facilities, was a way of ensuring there was a level playing field in college athletics.
Whole
If MF Global customers could get all of their money back, then what exactly was the problem? Who was to blame? How were wire transfers improper? I'm not getting this story.