Monday, August 31, 2015
I Think I'd Do Ok
I'm sympathetic to the idea that being filthy rich can be socially isolating, but, you know, I think I'd figure it out.
Maybe if he gives me most of his moneys we can try it out? Maybe a reality show Trading Places kind of thing? What say you, Mortimer?
Maybe if he gives me most of his moneys we can try it out? Maybe a reality show Trading Places kind of thing? What say you, Mortimer?
Mooooar Parking
The solution to all of Camden's ills is always more parking. Spend a bunch of money to "revitalize" the waterfront by building giant parking lots. Give a bunch of tax money to "lure" a company from a neighboring suburban municipality? Surround it with parking!
Anything which encourages drive-in/park/drive-out behavior does nothing for surrounding businesses or street life. Camden has its problems, but the solution isn't trying to turn into Cherry Hill.
Anything which encourages drive-in/park/drive-out behavior does nothing for surrounding businesses or street life. Camden has its problems, but the solution isn't trying to turn into Cherry Hill.
Chipping American Tourists
One of my favorite things is when countries enact what are essentially retaliatory measures against American Visa requirements for their visitors to the US. $200 and a visit to a consulate that only exists in one city and is only open 2 hours per week? Fine, we'll do that too. Obviously it isn't my favorite thing if I have to deal with it, but I appreciate the response. Also, too, I have a UK passport so I can usually evade such things.
When we start chipping all visitors, countries will start doing the same to us. That will be hilarious.
When we start chipping all visitors, countries will start doing the same to us. That will be hilarious.
Sunday, August 30, 2015
The Third Wall Is The Wall On The US-Iran Border
My friends at LGM are obviously unaware that Iran has a border with everyone.
Sunday Crass Commercialism
In the continuing series of "Atrios actually reads a few books" I did enjoy the Harold Fry book and the Queenie Hennessy "sequel." Not high literature, but strangely affecting. Probably just getting old.
The Life of the Poors
My very good friend (okay, I met her at a pub once), Dawn Foster, writes about how poverty sucks.
High On Own Supply
The Blairite faction of New Labour seems to have missed the part that they've been out of power and everyone hates them now because aside from "we won elections!!!" they don't actually boast about their success.
Elect us because we can win elections! 3) profit!!!
Caroline Flint, a candidate in the Labour deputy leadership contest, has put herself on a collision course with Jeremy Corbyn by claiming that she would use the strength of being directly elected to force the next leader to learn the lessons of the electorally successful Blair years.
Elect us because we can win elections! 3) profit!!!
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Because Reasons
I don't think minor rate hikes will destroy the economy, but it says a lot about our rulers that contrary to their own stated criteria they might just have to raise rates because serious. 2% is supposed to be the inflation target. We never go above it. Ok, so it's actually a ceiling. And we never hit it. So raise rates anyway so people on CNBC will say nice things about us? Until the stock market crashes at which point they'll say mean things. It's all so confusing.
More Security Theater For Everyone!
Let's just implement massive pointless security in every location that resembles a site where there has been a mass shooting or attempt.
Yes there might be a couple of particularly high profile potential targets - like the Chunnel - where increased security might at least seem to make a bit of sense. But if someone wants to wreak havoc on a train they don't need to pick an intercity train to do it. There are these things called subways all over the place, and they can function with that type of security.
Calls for tighter security on the railways are to be discussed by European ministers and officials, following the foiled attack on a high-speed Amsterdam-Paris train last week.
Yes there might be a couple of particularly high profile potential targets - like the Chunnel - where increased security might at least seem to make a bit of sense. But if someone wants to wreak havoc on a train they don't need to pick an intercity train to do it. There are these things called subways all over the place, and they can function with that type of security.
Declaring War On Your Own Citizens
It isn't just about the right vote, though of course it is that too, it's about abandoning all pretense that it's by the people for the people.
Friday, August 28, 2015
This Could Be You
One thing I've noticed (anecdotally! Not science!) is that increasingly the powers that be are victimizing people who aren't supposed to be victimized. I'm of course not justifying the usual practices of extracting everything that can be extracted from poor people and minorities, but there's a bit of hubris involved in going after people who might actually have the means to defend themselves. Of course I wrote "might," as apparently it's perfectly legal to break into random homes as long as a bank tells you to do it, but the broader point is that the rules are changing. We can all be screwed now.
Give Me All Of Jeff's Moneys
I get that people have reasons for not liking Amazon. I don't always agree with those reasons, and roll my eyes a bit when you're expressing them by typing them out on your near-slave labor built electronic device, but those of us who give a shit tend to have our consumer choices be a bit influenced by our politics, and if Amazon is the company which pisses you off then feel free to not shop there. I link to them because their affiliate commission program is very generous (thanks for the $50 for whoever just bought a water heater!) and their ads are fairly non-intrusive. Don't like amazon, don't shop there! But lots of people do shop there, and if you are going to shop there anyway then clicking a link gives me a bit of Jeff's money.
Totebagging
Otherwise reasonably smart people who can't give up the idea that they are somehow "above the fray" has long been a tremendous frustration. I don't know how much it actually affects outcomes (maybe not much!), but it's certainly annoying.
Most of these people tend to be Democrats who don't want to admit they're Democrats. I don't care about partisan allegiance or loyalty, but we're talking about the kind of people (including many famous pundits) who regularly demand that Obama advocates for a position he has already advocated.
If you have vaguely liberal views on social issues and don't want the US to be a plutocracy, you're a Democrat whether you admit or not. Okay, fine, you can register for the Greens or declare yourself to be an independent or whatever tribal identification makes some amount of sense, but the Totebagger notion of technocratic centrism is a vote for plutocracy, not against. "Centrism" in DC is status quo+shifting wealth upwards.
Most of these people tend to be Democrats who don't want to admit they're Democrats. I don't care about partisan allegiance or loyalty, but we're talking about the kind of people (including many famous pundits) who regularly demand that Obama advocates for a position he has already advocated.
If you have vaguely liberal views on social issues and don't want the US to be a plutocracy, you're a Democrat whether you admit or not. Okay, fine, you can register for the Greens or declare yourself to be an independent or whatever tribal identification makes some amount of sense, but the Totebagger notion of technocratic centrism is a vote for plutocracy, not against. "Centrism" in DC is status quo+shifting wealth upwards.
Maybe A Heliport?
We have about two generations that don't understand cities at all. It's a problem.
MOOOOAR PARKING will fix Camden!
MOOOOAR PARKING will fix Camden!
Retail Banking Is Hard
Actually it's pretty simple, but some banks just don't care.
Such things would be less of a problem once upon a time, but with (especially in Europe) your various utilities and other regular bills pushing automatic payments, a failed bank deposit can cause a cascade of problems.
Customers of banking giant HSBC have been left without their salary and other payments as it emerged on Friday morning that the bank is suffering an as yet unknown IT problem.
The bank issued a statement on Friday following complaints from customers on Twitter and through its helplines that they have been left without money.
Such things would be less of a problem once upon a time, but with (especially in Europe) your various utilities and other regular bills pushing automatic payments, a failed bank deposit can cause a cascade of problems.
You Murdered 71 People
Full story isn't quite clear here, but somebody murdered them. That they were people on the margins, refugees, does not change that.
Remember When Libya Was The Good War?
I was talking about this with a friend who knows a bit about such things (I mostly don't) yesterday. There was a time when we had to do something in Libya, and doing something of course meant bombing the shit out of someone because what else do we know how to do. Eventheliberals were saying 1) bomb 2)???? 3) humanitarian miracles!!!. Nobody talks about Libya anymore. I guess we just got bored? Bombing wasn't as much fun as we thought it would be? Everybody remembered that humanitarian relief isn't actually on our agenda, except maybe painting schools over and over again? I don't even know. But this is pretty hilarious, four years later.
Victorious rebels! I bet they were moderates, too. All the good rebels are moderate rebels.
WASHINGTON — It would be premature to call the war in Libya a complete success for United States interests. But the arrival of victorious rebels on the shores of Tripoli last week gave President Obama’s senior advisers a chance to claim a key victory for an Obama doctrine for the Middle East that had been roundly criticized in recent months as leading from behind.
Victorious rebels! I bet they were moderates, too. All the good rebels are moderate rebels.
Nobody Could Have Predicted
One doesn't know who to blame because nobody wants to take responsibility, but the people running this city don't have any idea what they're doing.
So stupid.
Sobered by modest sales of rail passes for next month's papal visit, SEPTA officials changed their tune Thursday from dire warnings to warm invitations.
"We want you to be there," SEPTA general manager Joseph Casey said. "We are doing everything possible to make it easy for you to come see the pope."
So stupid.
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Moar Taxes
I don't know Phoenix, but it seems like a somewhat unlikely place for people to vote to increase taxes to fund commie trains. But they did!
Not a knock on the people of Phoenix. I doubt the people of Philadelphia would vote for more taxes to support our commie trains.
Phoenix voters on Tuesday approved a sales tax increase that would pay for an expansion of its light rail system.
By a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent, voters nearly doubled the sales tax for transit from 0.4 percent to 0.7 percent (the overall sales tax in Phoenix was bumped from 8.3 percent to 8.6 percent) until 2050 to fund 42 new miles of light-rail tracks, more bus routes and street improvements that are part of a $31 billion plan (also funded by passenger fares and federal and county money) called Proposition 104.
Not a knock on the people of Phoenix. I doubt the people of Philadelphia would vote for more taxes to support our commie trains.
Why Is Lindsey Graham Always On My Teevee?
It isn't the most important thing in the world, but it is more evidence that there's a huge disconnect between who the Washington Press thinks are Very Important People That Should Be Listened To and, well, what the rest of us think. He's probably had more "free" press than almost any Republican other than Saint McCain and despite that, or likely because of it, nobody likes him.
Journalists Against Journalism
It really is a strange phenomenon. I used to think that however little it made sense, journalists were at least serious about the conventions and "rules" of "objective journalism." After years of paying attention I find that more often than not they're just ways of defining who is and isn't in the tribe, who gets to sit at the big kids' table. Opinions and advocacy are of course fine, as long as they're the right opinions and the right kind of advocacy. I no longer believe journalists are so stupid that they have really managed to fool themselves about this. They know what game they're playing.
The Immigration Crisis
Most summers, Europe has some sort of "immigration crisis." Slow news time otherwise and for various reasons there are more people attempting to arrive (legally, undocumented, attempting to receive refugee status, etc.) during that time. Even in the more left-leaning press it tends to be portrayed in more nativist terms, as the "crisis" is about countries being overrun by The Others.
There is a crisis. It's people dying in the attempt.
There is a crisis. It's people dying in the attempt.
It's Tom
I certainly don't endorse everything in this Tom Friedman column, but at least it does acknowledge that there are things going on in the Arab world which aren't about people wanting to blow up Americans. It isn't all about us, after all. There are climate and agriculture issues that are, you know, issues. People gotta live and eat.
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Nobody Could Have Predicted
This will never end...
Insurance companies are suing to get off the hook for an anticipated $143 million in repair costs for stuck tunnel-boring machine Bertha, claiming the machine’s design was inadequate from the start.
The price cited in the lawsuit, filed last week in New York City, far exceeds the machine’s roughly $80 million price when built, and offers the first glimpse of the real cost to get Bertha up and running again.
Amnesty
The contrast between the Reagan worship and the anti-immigrant stance which are the twin hearts of the current Republican party is amusing. I don't give Saint Ronnie credit for much, but the immigration reforms and, yes, AMNESTY, that were passed under his rule were pretty awesome. This Statue of Liberty country closed the border for many decades, and Reagan opened them up again. Not that our immigration system is perfect. It's a total mess. But letting people in again was a great thing.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Nice Work
Back in the early days of bloogering there was all sorts of concern trolling about "ethics" and "conflicts of interest" and "undisclosed financial interests." I really just laughed at one local journalist when I asked him if they worry about such things for their op-ed contributors? This journalist might have genuinely worried, though without any power to do anything about it, but the point is that there was (and still is) a strange blindness to just how some people manage to print their paymasters' press releases on their op-ed pages. Certainly a bit more of concern than the bloogers and their issues and whatnot.
High Quality Trolling
Whatever one thinks of the troll, one still has to have some respect for the art.
Congrats @LindseyGrahamSC. You just got 4 points in your home state of SC—far better than zero nationally. You’re only 26 pts behind me.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2015
Difficult Times
Plenty of people have a tiny bit of skin in the stock market game, but for most of us it really isn't the thing that keeps us up at night. Plenty of other things to worry about.
Monday, August 24, 2015
MOOC'd
Well I pretty much called that one right.
Suggesting the MOOC revolution would never come was one of those "why do you hate technology" things. But MOOCs were more a technological "improvement" over textbooks, not classroom learning. There's a reason largely self-directed learning doesn't work very well for most people. Also, too, they were simultaneously going to be free and make people rich. I never quite got how that one was going to work...
Suggesting the MOOC revolution would never come was one of those "why do you hate technology" things. But MOOCs were more a technological "improvement" over textbooks, not classroom learning. There's a reason largely self-directed learning doesn't work very well for most people. Also, too, they were simultaneously going to be free and make people rich. I never quite got how that one was going to work...
Traveling Bar
I like wine. I've had a few sips of expensive wine in my life. I'm all for snooty wine fans enjoying their hobby. And I get that wine tastings aren't about getting shitfaced any more than having a nice bottle of wine with a meal is about getting shitfaced, but let's not pretend that drinking booze is not about drinking booze, no matter how fancy it is. The wine train is the wine train. People are going to drink and do what people who drink (ideally) do. Have fun!
Yes it is. It's a bar.
According to Johnson, one of the women in the same car told the group “this isn’t a bar.”
“And we though, um, yes it is,” Johnson said.
What came next, she said, was the worst part of the afternoon. When the train pulled into the St. Helena station, the group had to do the “walk of shame” as they were escorted past passengers on the six other cars, Johnson said. At the station, the group was met by officers from the Napa Valley Railroad and St. Helena police departments.
Yes it is. It's a bar.
Cycles
Yes this is a story about a changing population and changing preferences/location needs, but we're also seeing something a little bit similar in the US which is more about the fact that the quality of housing stocks tend to degrade over time. Depreciation.
As much as I love the urban hellhole, I've never been in the "SUBURBS ARE DYING" camp. But while it isn't true in a general sense, it's true of some locations. That post-war housing stock is getting old. Older houses are more and more expensive to maintain, and more and more expensive to bring up in line with modern sensibilities. As those of us in urban hellholes know, there are huge negative externalities associated with empty dilapidated houses and very little in place to do much about it.
I've been shocked recently to see boarded up suburban homes in places. Not saying it's an epidemic in my general neck of the woods, but it is something I have seen.
Also, too, infrastructure costs. For various reasons funding repairs is more difficult than funding shiny new stuff.
Some of the problems associated with older urban hellholes are fanning out to older suburbs. It's expensive to fix your water pipes, and it's expensive to maintain your housing stock.
As much as I love the urban hellhole, I've never been in the "SUBURBS ARE DYING" camp. But while it isn't true in a general sense, it's true of some locations. That post-war housing stock is getting old. Older houses are more and more expensive to maintain, and more and more expensive to bring up in line with modern sensibilities. As those of us in urban hellholes know, there are huge negative externalities associated with empty dilapidated houses and very little in place to do much about it.
I've been shocked recently to see boarded up suburban homes in places. Not saying it's an epidemic in my general neck of the woods, but it is something I have seen.
Also, too, infrastructure costs. For various reasons funding repairs is more difficult than funding shiny new stuff.
Some of the problems associated with older urban hellholes are fanning out to older suburbs. It's expensive to fix your water pipes, and it's expensive to maintain your housing stock.
Unpossible
For years pundits have been telling me that yelling at women teachers on Youtube videos was the sure way to become president.
Why Not Bill Kristol?
While we're thinking outside the box a bit, why not Bill? It's hard to think of a more charismatic and consistently correct member of the Republican party. I meant that sentence as a joke, but...
Sunday, August 23, 2015
How We Live
I'll keep this pithy in the spirit of this blog:
Much recently built intra-city or intra-metro transit misses the point. It isn't about building a substitute to your car commute, it's about building a different kind of transportation infrastructure which is complementary to walkable neighborhoods which don't require car use for all needs. If people don't want that, fine, I surrender, but building a train down the median of a highway usually doesn't accomplish this goal very well.
Much recently built intra-city or intra-metro transit misses the point. It isn't about building a substitute to your car commute, it's about building a different kind of transportation infrastructure which is complementary to walkable neighborhoods which don't require car use for all needs. If people don't want that, fine, I surrender, but building a train down the median of a highway usually doesn't accomplish this goal very well.
The One True Candidate And The One True Shill
Primary season is the greatest time for incredibly influential bloggers who receive large amounts of money from various campaigns, Wall Street Interests, random billionaires, retirees we manage to scam, and similar. It's always fun because as I'm rolling around in my money and snorting only the best coke that the campaigns have sent to me, people accuse me of having conflicts of interest and of holding views I don't actually hold, or at least that I won't actually hold until the good coke shows up.
Send more money and more better coke and I will be a more better shill.
Send more money and more better coke and I will be a more better shill.
Yelping Puppies
I don't read as much science fiction/fantasy as I did when I was a teen, and have never been a part of organized fandom (neither of these things are meant to distance myself from those who do/are, just saying it's not my current world), but I've vaguely followed the tale of the attempt of the gamergaterish faction of SciFi fandom to rig the Hugo Awards. Nice try.
"Genre" fiction or whatever we call it these days usually doesn't have a giant audience. Such awards provide an opportunity to maybe, just maybe, make a few bucks for most of the authors who really don't make much (some manage, most don't, even ones who sell a respectable number of books). As Jim says, the Sad Puppies might have ultimately lost, but so did some (by accounts) good authors.
"Genre" fiction or whatever we call it these days usually doesn't have a giant audience. Such awards provide an opportunity to maybe, just maybe, make a few bucks for most of the authors who really don't make much (some manage, most don't, even ones who sell a respectable number of books). As Jim says, the Sad Puppies might have ultimately lost, but so did some (by accounts) good authors.
If It's Sunday...
Needless to say, the Sunday shows remain skewed towards Republicans as they have almost every single week since I started informally counting. When occasionally called to respond to these discrepancies, they always have their reasons. In the Bush years, there were more Republicans because they had "administration" voices from various Cabinet offices so of course. In the Obama years, it was necessary to give the opposition a voice. I'm sure now it's something like "we have to give everyone in the clown car an opportunity!" My favorite one, trotted out usually when gender imbalance specifically is called out, is some version of "we call Nancy Pelosi's office every week and they always decline." Glad the only name in your rolodex is the one you know will turn you down, smart booker person!
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Squirrel Scalps
One nice thing.
Something is wrong with people.
Still, others said they had plenty of advice for the man they regularly identified in conversation as “Mr. Trump.”
“Hopefully, he’s going to sit there and say, ‘When I become elected president, what we’re going to do is we’re going to make the border a vacation spot, it’s going to cost you $25 for a permit, and then you get $50 for every confirmed kill,’ ” said Jim Sherota, 53, who works for a landscaping company. “That’d be one nice thing.”
Something is wrong with people.
No Room
The stock market is not the economy, though the powers that be tend to think it is. Since the economy was never fixed enough to raise rates (yes it's better but it was a really really really slow recovery), once again the Fed's powers are limited. Fiscal policy is unpossible, of course, so..
Friday, August 21, 2015
But
Not quite sure what the contradiction here is, NYT.
but1
bʌt,bət/
conjunction
conjunction: but
1.
used to introduce a phrase or clause contrasting with what has already been mentioned.
Crazy Talk
We can't possibly afford this. There are countries to bomb! Moderate rebels to arm and train!
Generational warfare! Stealing from the young! Monster!
Democratic presidential hopeful Martin O’Malley is slated to release a plan Friday that seeks to increase Social Security benefits and to resist calls to raise the retirement age, among other measures aimed at easing economic pressures on seniors.
...
Under O’Malley’s plan, aides said, Social Security benefits would increase by an average of $60 to $70 a month. Those with lower benefits would see the greater increases.
Generational warfare! Stealing from the young! Monster!
Thursday, August 20, 2015
There Is No Such Thing As Urban Farming
I know this is going to dent my good liberal credentials, but I really just don't understand this concept. "Urban farms" are either large commercial gardens - great! - or reclamations of urban spaces which are no longer urban spaces - great too! But neither are urban farms.
If it's large enough to really be considered a farm, as opposed to a large commercial garden, it isn't urban. By definition. If there's enough agricultural land in an urban area to make even a dent in the food needs of the people in that area, it isn't an urban area.
I'm not just nitpicking here. Farming, and not just modern industrial farming, is a large scale endeavor. A few acres of plants does not qualify as a farm. It's a commercial garden. Great! Just not the same thing.
A 5 acrefarm urban garden is 467x467 feet. That's less than 1/10 of a mile x 1/10 of a mile. It ain't a farm.
If it's large enough to really be considered a farm, as opposed to a large commercial garden, it isn't urban. By definition. If there's enough agricultural land in an urban area to make even a dent in the food needs of the people in that area, it isn't an urban area.
I'm not just nitpicking here. Farming, and not just modern industrial farming, is a large scale endeavor. A few acres of plants does not qualify as a farm. It's a commercial garden. Great! Just not the same thing.
A 5 acre
Edits
Planned Parenthood is a really remarkable organization, working in the trenches to deliver health care for people with nowhere else to go.
Hoped
As I've written before, some transit nerds cheered a bit when Christie killed the tunnel plan because they didn't think it was a good plan. And, ok, fine, but it's hopey thinking to expect that after destroying a plan that took years to devise and potentially fund that a new and better plan would materialize anytime soon. It's 2015. There's no plan, no funding, and two governors who don't give a shit.
Hopey doesn't bring you changey.
While it's my neck of the woods, I don't even go to NYC that often and when I do I usually take the bus. I just know how much this would screw the region.
Hopey doesn't bring you changey.
While it's my neck of the woods, I don't even go to NYC that often and when I do I usually take the bus. I just know how much this would screw the region.
Auto Theft
I don't know why people just aren't arrested for this. If it isn't legal towing, it's just auto theft. Felony and big jail time.
That Sinking Feeling
Could be very costly to fix the damage this might do.
Farmland near Corcoran in the southern San Joaquin Valley sank 13 inches in just eight months last year. To the north, near El Nido, the land surface dropped about 10 inches.
Along a major canal near Los Banos, the ground has sunk so much that the concrete sides cracked. Nearby, a bridge over another canal had dropped so low it had to be demolished and replaced with a higher structure.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
How To Win Over Voters
This is a perfect pitch to an electorate which includes a nontrivial number of pensioners.
Corbyn certainly bring out the best in people.
He seems like a decent enough bloke, like the ageing neighbour you share a smile with and feel nostalgic for. Forgive me, there is no need to be cruel about this dedicated pensioner, but there is every need to be extremely cautious that the Party’s old dear remains so and is not elevated to the role of its condemned executioner.
Corbyn certainly bring out the best in people.
They're Going To Let It Fail
With each passing day, the probability of the NE rail corridor collapsing goes up just a little bit.
Cuomo travels by limo, and Christie by helicopter. I do not think they understand that most people have to use other means of transportation.
Cuomo travels by limo, and Christie by helicopter. I do not think they understand that most people have to use other means of transportation.
Clear As Mud
Everybody involved is incompetent.
Headline:
Actual information:
So, you know, depending. Like whatevs.
Headline:
What you can and cannot bring to papal events
Actual information:
They open at 6 a.m. Saturday, September 26th. The good news is you will be able to bring provisions.
"Food, water is fine. Packages, I mean I'm being serious, packages, depending on what's in the package. But yea, food, water, all those kinds of things, sure," Nutter said.
So, you know, depending. Like whatevs.
Furriners
I admit I find the wingnut extreme opposition to immigration puzzling. I mean, yah, I get it. It's a more respectable manifestation of racism, and I get racism. But as it's a respectable manifestation of racism, it's just a diversion from the real impulse. I get it, you hate brown people, and don't much care about (white) Scandinavian and Irish intruders in our midst. What I'm trying to say is... why is it so satisfying as a political issue when for most people it isn't the real issue?
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
You Probably Aren't Doing Shit. Neither Am I.
I do this little blog, and occasional related activities, in part because I think that every now and then I flap my little butterfly wings and manage to influence the world a tiny bit. And I think I have! A few times. Just a tiny bit. Which is pretty good, really. So I always feel a bit guilty when I'm inclined to roll my eyes at the latest incarnation of "online activism." It isn't because I think no good can come of it, but the truth is that furiously typing away on a discussion board or the twitters probably isn't going to change the world. Neither is this sucky blog! I don't roll my eyes at the attempts or the desire. I roll my eyes when people are a bit too convinced that what they're doing is going to make a difference.
Audience
I'm certainly not one who thinks that the mythological Independent Voters need to be pandered to. They mostly don't exist, and to the extent that they do they aren't actually the people that NPR and the WaPo think they are. Still there are times when it's evident that a political campaign is talking to itself, internalizing a set of knowledge, assumptions, and inside jokes that the rest of the world just doesn't understand.
Yes I'm subtweeting.
Yes I'm subtweeting.
Writing On The Wall
Burnham tries to make nice with Corbyn. Funny.
A big departure from the general Corbyn is Hitler and his supporters saying mean things about us is like the Bataan Death March rhetoric. Maybe someone wants a shadow cabinet job!
I really don't claim to know if Corbyn should win. I've just found the incompetence of his opponents (politicians and in the media) to be "hilarious." Maybe not ha ha hilarious, but you know.
A big departure from the general Corbyn is Hitler and his supporters saying mean things about us is like the Bataan Death March rhetoric. Maybe someone wants a shadow cabinet job!
I really don't claim to know if Corbyn should win. I've just found the incompetence of his opponents (politicians and in the media) to be "hilarious." Maybe not ha ha hilarious, but you know.
Trumped
It seems like years ago when he said that career ending thing about St. McCain (and, yes, it was horrible, but Trump fans are horrible).
The survey finds Trump with the support of 24% of Republican registered voters. His nearest competitor, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, stands 11 points behind at 13%. Just behind Bush, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has 9%, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker 8%, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul 6%, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, former tech CEO Carly Fiorina and Ohio Gov. John Kasich all land at 5%, with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee rounding out the top 10 at 4%.
Who Was That Guy Again
I can never remember who Mitt Romney's running mate was. I have to google it every single time. I get that losing VP candidates don't always have a stellar career afterwards, but did anyone make as small a splash as Paul Ryan did?
Monday, August 17, 2015
It's Only 3000 People
Europe could easily absorb them - and many more - if it chose to.
Not engaging in Europe bashing. The US is shit on these issues, too. But it's only a "crisis" because the media and politicians have determined that it is one. Humane treatment of these people is likely be cheaper than the inhumane treatment they're getting now.
Not engaging in Europe bashing. The US is shit on these issues, too. But it's only a "crisis" because the media and politicians have determined that it is one. Humane treatment of these people is likely be cheaper than the inhumane treatment they're getting now.
Heroin Nation
It's bubbling up slowly as political issue, but as Marty says, heroin/opiod addiction is hitting every part of society. The visible nonrespectable "drug trade" might still be centered in the big bad cities, but drug use and addiction never was. It shouldn't take epidemics hitting the more respectable members of society for them to be taken seriously as a non-criminal policy matter, but that's the way things work.
Philadelphia's David Broder
For years we've been cursed with the unfathomable presence of Chris Satullo in our media. I have no idea why people pay him to do anything. He's horrible, an asshole, an idiot, and there are always jokers to the left of him and jokers to the right. Magically, Mr. Center Square thinks he always gets it correctly right down the middle. Usually I ignore him, but I can't let this idiocy pass.
We go from this:
To this:
So, uh, you're pro-choice then? Being pro-choice isn't about your personal fucking fee-fees about abortion, it's about what you think government policy should be. So YOU ARE PRO-CHOICE but you don't want to admit to having icky cooties like actual pro-choice people who are icky and gross and super icky.
I've lived in this city for 13 years. I've never understood why people pay this person. There are slugs with more interesting views. What an asshole.
We go from this:
Before I get to where I'm going with this one, let me clarify something.
I'm not really either pro-choice or pro-life.
I've never shaken a sense that abortion is always a tragedy and sometimes a sin.
To this:
But I'm sure government has no business whatsoever dictating to women or couples what should be done about a pregnancy.
So, uh, you're pro-choice then? Being pro-choice isn't about your personal fucking fee-fees about abortion, it's about what you think government policy should be. So YOU ARE PRO-CHOICE but you don't want to admit to having icky cooties like actual pro-choice people who are icky and gross and super icky.
I've lived in this city for 13 years. I've never understood why people pay this person. There are slugs with more interesting views. What an asshole.
Every Thanksgiving, we'd bundle ourselves up and cart our lawn chairs onto the SEPTA train for the ride to Suburban Station, then wheedle some curbside real estate to gawk at balloons and bands.
For the kids, the train ride was as much the point of the adventure as the procession. They'd stare, riveted, at the scenes of North Philly as the R-6 rolled through. We wanted them to see those scenes, to grasp their luck.
Yes, we were suburbanites, but suburbanites who loved the city and visited often: the dinosaur museum, Please Touch, the Franklin. Not every parent of our kids' friends was the same. Their view of urban life was framed by the sirens and chalk outlines on Action News.
When we'd call to see if their kid could join us on a jaunt to say, the Zoo, they'd ask, horror in their voices, "Really? Into the city? You take your kids into the city?"
We considered it a civic mitzvah to cart their little darlings into Philly to enjoy things they'd never see otherwise, then deliver them safely home to their astonished parents.
America's Worst Humans
Michael Miner.
Pretty sure she didn't die 1800 times. And, yes, I know, writers don't always choose their headlines, but...
(ht athenae)
Pretty sure she didn't die 1800 times. And, yes, I know, writers don't always choose their headlines, but...
(ht athenae)
"Purge"
The new boss gets to make some staffing decisions. This will be true no matter who wins. The New Labour whiny ass titty babies turn it into something uncouth and improper, with an assist by the press who might need some new gchat mates for their "scoops."
"It's not his place" - the British David Broder, soon, probably.
The Independent understands that large numbers of Labour staff members are on contracts that expire the day after the new leader is elected. This means Mr Corbyn and his new shadow cabinet team will have a completely free hand at choosing who works for the party, with little or no legal obligation to existing staff.
Labour aides, who have worked for the party for the past five years, fear those around the new leader will use the opportunity to “purge” party HQ of those considered to be on the right, and replace them with people whose views are more in tune with the new leader. Other staff members intend to leave of their own volition and are understood to be already sending out their CVs in anticipation of a Corbyn victory.
"It's not his place" - the British David Broder, soon, probably.
There Might Even Be An Opportunity Here
Imagine if the Democratic party loudly united to expand Social Security benefits, highlighting the contrast between their very popular view and the very unpopular position of Republicans.
On one hand voters would like it. On the other hand, Fred Hiatt might say mean things. So I guess it's complicated.
It’s remarkable, then, that most of the Republicans who would be president seem to be lining up for another round of punishment. In particular, they’ve been declaring that the retirement age — which has already been pushed up from 65 to 66, and is scheduled to rise to 67 — should go up even further.
Thus, Jeb Bush says that the retirement age should be pushed back to “68 or 70”. Scott Walker has echoed that position. Marco Rubio wants both to raise the retirement age and to cut benefits for higher-income seniors. Rand Paul wants to raise the retirement age to 70 and means-test benefits. Ted Cruz wants to revive the Bush privatization plan.
On one hand voters would like it. On the other hand, Fred Hiatt might say mean things. So I guess it's complicated.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Mommy He Hit Me Back
WAH PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET ARE BEING MEAN TO ME STOP HITTING ME BACK.
Except, you know.
Why can't we all just get along you pieces of shite!!!!
Labour leadership candidate Andy Burnham has hit out at the “outrageous” labelling of people as Tories if they do not support Jeremy Corbyn, amid concerns the contest is getting increasingly fractious online.
The former favourite, who has been overtake by Corbyn, called for the abuse to stop and for Labour to unite and “take the fight to the real enemies who are the Conservative party”.
Except, you know.
Speaking to PoliticsHome, Burnham said: “There is a coalition of senior voices in the party – John Prescott, Neil Kinnock, Margaret Beckett – backing me, saying: ‘Think carefully before you vote and don’t make Labour a party of protest that is racked by internal divisions rather than focusing on being a proper opposition and taking on the Tories.’
“These are people who lived through the mid-80s. There’s a silent majority in the party who aren’t on social media, who will listen to what people are saying and those are the people who are receiving their ballot papers now. The risk is that Labour becomes internally focused, as we were in the mid-80s, rather than a united opposition, and that is something that people do have to think about as they open up their ballot paper. Can the party be united behind Jeremy? I think that is very difficult.”
Why can't we all just get along you pieces of shite!!!!
America's Worst Humans
Kenneth Holt.
Generation Lead. Assholes.
Gov. Larry Hogan's top housing official said Friday that he wants to look at loosening state lead paint poisoning laws, saying they could motivate a mother to deliberately poison her child to obtain free housing.
Kenneth C. Holt, secretary of Housing, Community and Development, told an audience at the Maryland Association of Counties summer convention here that a mother could just put a lead fishing weight in her child's mouth, then take the child in for testing and a landlord would be liable for providing the child with housing until the age of 18.
Pressed afterward, Holt said he had no evidence of this happening but said a developer had told him it was possible. "This is an anecdotal story that was described to me as something that could possibly happen," Holt said.
Generation Lead. Assholes.
Nothing To See Here
Chez Atrios is probably 20 feet above sea level so all is good.
The floating ice shelf of the Totten Glacier covers an area of 90 miles by 22 miles. It it is losing an amount of ice “equivalent to 100 times the volume of Sydney Harbour every year,” notes the Australian Antarctic Division.
That’s alarming, because the glacier holds back a much more vast catchment of ice that, were its vulnerable parts to flow into the ocean, could produce a sea level rise of more than 11 feet — which is comparable to the impact from a loss of the West Antarctica ice sheet. And that’s “a conservative lower limit,” says lead study author Jamin Greenbaum, a PhD candidate at the University of Texas at Austin.
Calvinball
I think this is a stupid way to choose a party leader, but the Calvinball aspect is hilarious.
■ Interim leader Harriet Harman blocked demands by at least three senior figures for an emergency shadow cabinet meeting, where it is understood there would have been calls for the contest to be stopped. She rejected the appeal by the shadow ministers, who had been alarmed by the rush of 160,000 people to sign up to vote on the last day of registration, in what one said was an example of “flashmob politics”.
■ The rules of the contest were quietly changed last week by Labour to ensure that MPs’ voting preferences will not be published after the new leader is announced, in a move some believe is designed to conceal Corbyn’s lack of support in the parliamentary party in the event of him winning. A party spokesman said the change had been made after officials were alerted to an outdated rule left over from the 2010 leadership election.
Mercury Fur
It's a title I regularly use for posts. It's a nod to this play by Philip Ridley. Haven't seen the NYC production, but it's one of my favorite contemporary plays.
So Funny
Corbyn might be the lovechild for Mao, Stalin, and Pol Pot for all I know, but there's surprisingly little substance behind criticisms of him. I keep waiting.
Corbyn sought to calm fears that he would have an anti-business agenda by setting out plans to support entrepreneurs and small traders.
He told The Observer: “The current government seems to think ‘pro-business’ means giving a green light to corporate tax avoiders and private monopolies. I will stand up for small businesses, independent entrepreneurs, and the growing number of enterprises that want to cooperate and innovate for the public good.
“My Better Business plan will level the playing field between small businesses and their workers who are being made to wait in the queue behind the big corporate welfare lobby the Tories are funded by and obsessed with.”
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Long Read (Too Long; Do Read)
It is too long for a pithy blog like this, but my former colleague Stergios has many smart things to say about Greece (.pdf).
IVF
The lack of conservative opposition to IVF (there is some, but not much) demonstrates that it's just an anti-sex movement. If you really want to have a babby, anything is fine, but if you're a dirty hooooar who likes sex than you must be "punished."
Everything Is Unpossible
We're the richest country in the history of the universe (not quite true, but this is something we believe) but nice things are totally unaffordable. That government can't afford to spend money on anything nice has been the mantra my entire sentient life. Thanks Reagan! Of course it was Reagan who ballooned the deficit by spending all of our money on not nice things, but it isn't polite to point that out.
These days it is considered to be a minor miracle when a bike path, or similar, is built. If current thinking had been applied throughout the entire 20th century, the US would be a complete shithole of a country.
These days it is considered to be a minor miracle when a bike path, or similar, is built. If current thinking had been applied throughout the entire 20th century, the US would be a complete shithole of a country.
Morning Thread
We had five banksters indicted over the Wilmington Trust debacle. While
waiting for trial, one wanted to take a vacation to Ireland. The
judge said no to that. BWHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Friday, August 14, 2015
The Menacing Hordes On My Lawn
The current state of the Labour Party.
It reminds me a bit of the early days of activist political blogs. Everybody (press/politicians/pundits) did their best to infantalize the bloogers, in part because of course nobody except young people used the "internet." I'd always laugh at the condescension about the supposedly young audience bloggers commanded. It wasn't true, of course. I used to run polls and the median age of the readers of this site was a wee bit over 22. But what if it was true? If the bloogers had found a way to attract a large audience of very young and very engaged people interested in politics, wouldn't that be, you know, miraculous? I should've been praised for having superpowers, not derided for the nerds in the basement who were supposedly my readers.
It’s easy to see why those in charge of the Labour Party are so depressed. They must sit in their office crying: “Hundreds of thousands of people want to join us. It’s a disaster. And loads of them are young, and full of energy, and they’re really enthusiastic. Oh my God, why has it all gone so miserably wrong?”
It reminds me a bit of the early days of activist political blogs. Everybody (press/politicians/pundits) did their best to infantalize the bloogers, in part because of course nobody except young people used the "internet." I'd always laugh at the condescension about the supposedly young audience bloggers commanded. It wasn't true, of course. I used to run polls and the median age of the readers of this site was a wee bit over 22. But what if it was true? If the bloogers had found a way to attract a large audience of very young and very engaged people interested in politics, wouldn't that be, you know, miraculous? I should've been praised for having superpowers, not derided for the nerds in the basement who were supposedly my readers.
I'm Not Sure If Andrew Cuomo Has Ever Actually Been To New York City
Not everybody wants to live in a place like New York, but places like New York can't exist without extensive functioning rail infrastructure. Take that away, and the hellscape awaits.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo won’t attend a meeting with U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to discuss reviving Amtrak’s Gateway tunnel project under the Hudson River.
Shit Is Fucked Up And Bullshit
The 'your hospital is in your insurance network but a random doctor who waved hello while you were under isn't' bullshit needs to go.
If I ever get a bill like that, I'll send one back to the doctor for taking up my time with needless bullshit. 32 grand for 15 seconds of reading and laughing at a bill sounds about right. As arbitrary as what they do, and far more appropriate.
If I ever get a bill like that, I'll send one back to the doctor for taking up my time with needless bullshit. 32 grand for 15 seconds of reading and laughing at a bill sounds about right. As arbitrary as what they do, and far more appropriate.
Persistent Structural Problems
So it didn't work then?
The persistent structural problem is "austerity in the middle of a high unemployment recession." Still the beatings must continue. They will eventually work!
“A key risk is a reversal of reforms already carried out, which would create uncertainty and could hamper the recovery,” the IMF said.
Despite the positive environment, the IMF sees persistent structural problems, including “very high” unemployment, low productivity and high levels of debt. It recommended further action on the labor-market and, noting that budgetary efforts have lost pace, said credible fiscal consolidation must be maintained.
The persistent structural problem is "austerity in the middle of a high unemployment recession." Still the beatings must continue. They will eventually work!
Probably I'm Just Cranky And Old
I rarely visit a McDonald's, but it happens occasionally, and when I do I honestly can't read the damn menus. It's hard to explain, but they're just bright and shiny and there are too many options to display them in the way that they do.
But, really, keep it simple. It isn't a diner.
But, really, keep it simple. It isn't a diner.
Feature
The only way "right to buy" made sense as policy was if its purpose was to expand the riches of the landlord class.
Almost 40 per cent of former council homes sold on the cheap under the Government’s Right to Buy scheme are now being let out on the hugely expensive private rental market, enriching a new generation of landlords.
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Happy Hour
Just in case, you better hurry up and get happy. TheyThere may, or may not, be another thread soon.
Traction
I suppose if we ignore all the polls and just repeat what highly paid GOP consultants tell us in gchat we can tell this story about how Carly Fiorina is the next great GOP hope?
The NYT makes sure that everybody in the clown car gets their moment riding shotgun.
So weird.
The NYT makes sure that everybody in the clown car gets their moment riding shotgun.
So weird.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
I Hate The Phrase "Thrown Under A Bus"
But it certainly applies here. Thanks for doing our dirty work, no thanks for making us look bad, piss off.
The bonus was absurd, of course, but...
University of Illinois trustees Wednesday rejected a proposed $400,000 bonus for outgoing Chancellor Phyllis Wise — who may now be dismissed from her administrative position — undermining a decision made last week by the new university president.
Trustees backpedaled on the deal amid widespread outrage from Gov. Bruce Rauner and other state lawmakers after Wise's resignation last week was immediately followed by the revelation that she had used her personal email account to hide sensitive and controversial issues from the public.
The bonus was absurd, of course, but...
How About Nobody?
Yes we all know bad things can and do happen, but nobody is actually a threat to this country.
Nobody Will Be Able To Get To Work
First responders, hospital workers, hospitality workers...all necessary, all unable to get to work.
Nobody in charge has any idea what it takes to make a city function. Hint: people.
The union that represents Philadelphia police officers is raising concerns about how its members will get to work and where they might be housed during Pope Francis' visit next month.
"As of this date, the city has revealed no plans to the [union] regarding your working conditions during the papal visit," John McNesby, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, wrote in a letter to members on Monday.
Nobody in charge has any idea what it takes to make a city function. Hint: people.
OBummer
I basically agree with Kevin's general point about political journalists, but whatever one thinks of Obama I don't think he's a "fairly ordinary mainstream politician." Even if it was all bullshit, the voters did go for the Hopey Changey guy.
The Beatings Will Continue Until More People Want The Job
Pretty sure pay and benefit cuts will solve this problem. Also, too, more public floggings.
Teachers are history's greatest monsters. Everybody knows that.
In recent years, there have been drastic cuts, underfunding for education both nationally and locally, rising expectations for teachers, and test-based accountability systems. In Texas specifically, there’s a student population with increasing needs – like low-income and ESL students – and a “teacher-bashing” narrative coming from many policymakers, Eaton says.
“[They] seem to want to pinpoint the issues with education squarely on the teachers,” she says. “In order to really make the profession valued, you need to … include their voices in major decisions.”
Teachers are history's greatest monsters. Everybody knows that.
Lessig
Lessig and I have one thing in common which makes for an excellent obscure pub quiz question. Hint: it involves a TV show. But I really have not understood his more recent moves in politics, even before his presidential run. He really needs to listen to some people who actually know how this stuff works if he wants to make things happen.
Should we minimize the influence of big money on politics? Sure. Would I like a unicorn? Yes. It's just a neverending game of whack-a-mole. Take the money out of one spigot and it will show up in another.
Should we minimize the influence of big money on politics? Sure. Would I like a unicorn? Yes. It's just a neverending game of whack-a-mole. Take the money out of one spigot and it will show up in another.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
The Plunger Protection Team
The Very Serious People think 25% unemployment signals a thriving economy.
The bailout deal doesn't grant Greece billions euros, it gives free money to the people who lent them money. It's a bankster bailout. It's debatable whether defaulting would be better for Greece, but it isn't a bailout of Greece. It's a bailout of the banks.
Even if it becomes final, the bailout deal — agreed to in principle last month but only now drafted in extensive detail — would grant Greece billions of euros in fresh aid to avoid an imminent default but would not help revive the Greek economy, which has plunged into a deep recession.
The bailout deal doesn't grant Greece billions euros, it gives free money to the people who lent them money. It's a bankster bailout. It's debatable whether defaulting would be better for Greece, but it isn't a bailout of Greece. It's a bailout of the banks.
The Best Readers On The Internets
A bunch of people wrote in feeling guilty about their adblocker use and some even made contributions! Very nice. But I didn't mean to make anyone feel guilty about using them. I understand why people use them. Most sites these days have really awful horrible intrusive ads. You have to play 5 rounds of Where's Waldo to read the content and that's only if you can hear yourself think over the auto-on audio/video ads. Little sites like this which are more personal can't get away with running that crap because you'd all send me nasty email - justifiably! - if I did. And I don't want to run that crap. If it annoys me, I don't run it. I've experimented with very slightly annoying things in the past and promptly pulled them.
I was just lamenting the fact that internet bad actors - almost everyone these days - create a huge negative externality for sites like this. Every shitty ad is a nudge for people to start running adblockers. Even though my ads are fairly unobtrusive, people start blocking them too. It wasn't until recently that I started to notice a new trend in people using them.
But, anyway, the easiest way to "give" me money is to click on the amazon ads before you make purchases you were going to make anyway. I take a bit of money from Jeff Bezos, it doesn't cost you anything more, and everybody wins.
I was just lamenting the fact that internet bad actors - almost everyone these days - create a huge negative externality for sites like this. Every shitty ad is a nudge for people to start running adblockers. Even though my ads are fairly unobtrusive, people start blocking them too. It wasn't until recently that I started to notice a new trend in people using them.
But, anyway, the easiest way to "give" me money is to click on the amazon ads before you make purchases you were going to make anyway. I take a bit of money from Jeff Bezos, it doesn't cost you anything more, and everybody wins.
If It's A Day Ending in 'Y'
Charles Plosser wants the Fed to raise interest rates.
And earlier this year.
And last year.
And earlier last year.
And earlier.
And earlier this year.
And last year.
And earlier last year.
And earlier.
More Weapons Should Help
Nobody could have predicted.
Something must be done. So we must do something! How about training and weapons! Perfect! That always works.
In recent weeks, the handful of fighters in the administration-backed rebel army—the so-called “New Syrian Force”—have been killed, kidnapped, or fallen off the proverbial radar. But the Pentagon maintained a brave face, even after these 54 fighters (out of what was supposed to be a total of 15,000) were decimated by Islamist attacks. “We continue to see volunteers want to be a part of this program,” Air Force Colonel Pat Ryder, a Defense Department spokesman, told reporters Friday.
It’s a public stance that has left many in the administration and in the defense establishment scratching their heads.
“I don’t understand why we are still training, other than to inoculate criticism. … [The administration] cannot admit it is a complete disaster,” said one senior defense adviser familiar with the U.S. approach. Even after the U.S.-trained fighters vanished, “there was no receptivity to new ideas.”
Something must be done. So we must do something! How about training and weapons! Perfect! That always works.
Monday, August 10, 2015
Tenured Radicals
The professors who piss me off the most are the ones who seem to have no awareness that they're dismantling the system that kept them fat and happy all of those years.
You really can't have our contemporary university system without genuine academic freedom (yes, I know, adjuncts don't have it and that sucks but killing it for everyone else doesn't help the adjuncts). It's quite a privilege if you earn the golden ring of tenure, but too many of those who have worn them for all of those years are apparently clueless. It's the "rules can't possibly apply to me" crowd. They won't, until they will.
You really can't have our contemporary university system without genuine academic freedom (yes, I know, adjuncts don't have it and that sucks but killing it for everyone else doesn't help the adjuncts). It's quite a privilege if you earn the golden ring of tenure, but too many of those who have worn them for all of those years are apparently clueless. It's the "rules can't possibly apply to me" crowd. They won't, until they will.
And When They Go?
I'm reasonably sure New York State could find some change in the couches of some banksters if they really wanted to.
Shorter Cuomo: Give us all the money or I turn New York City into a hellscape.
Speaking to reporters before the Dominican Day Parade in Manhattan on Sunday, Mr. Cuomo said he was willing to meet with the secretary of transportation, Anthony Foxx, who had asked for a meeting by Monday, “but there’s no reason to meet now, because it’s very simple.” The states could not afford to pay back a loan, Mr. Cuomo said; only cash would do to help cover the estimated $14 billion cost.
“I don’t need your advice; I know we need the tunnel,” Mr. Cuomo said. “We’ll build the tunnel — I’ll go out there with a shovel myself — but we need the money.”
Shorter Cuomo: Give us all the money or I turn New York City into a hellscape.
The Ads, They Are Blocked
I don't fault people for using adblockers. The annoying thing is that web sites (mostly the "respectable" ones, not sucky little blogs like this one) have been implementing increasingly annoying and intrusive ads over the last couple of years. There seems to be an ad cycle for this stuff, and we're on the upswing in pop-up auto-on video! audio! ads. I don't put any of that crap (knowingly, occasionally it has crept in) on this site, but when people install adblockers they end up blocking the mostly innocuous ads I run on this site.
I guess I'm a bit annoyed because I've done my best to not put annoying ads on this site, but because every other shitty website on the internets does I take the hit. Again, I get why people install adblockers. Just annoyed that relatively well-behaved site owners, like Eschaton World Industries, get punished for the shitty ads that others put on their sites.
(and, yes, I've turned down many lucrative but shitty ads)
I guess I'm a bit annoyed because I've done my best to not put annoying ads on this site, but because every other shitty website on the internets does I take the hit. Again, I get why people install adblockers. Just annoyed that relatively well-behaved site owners, like Eschaton World Industries, get punished for the shitty ads that others put on their sites.
(and, yes, I've turned down many lucrative but shitty ads)
Nobody Knows
Even if the security plans are all right and good and necessary (they aren't, of course, but let's stipulate), the Popeocalypse still needs better PR. The mayoral leadership thus far has mostly been "those news reports that have been reported aren't true except they are."
What a disaster. What incompetence.
It won't affect me. It's the stupidity that annoys.
What a disaster. What incompetence.
It won't affect me. It's the stupidity that annoys.
Fatbergs
I don't know if my local hellhole has a problem with fatbergs, but the lack of street cleaning due largely to the unwillingness of residents to move their cars once per month gives us a lot of clogged drains.
Nor is Manila’s sewer system the only one with hardening arteries. London, Cardiff, Melbourne, New York and Denver are all tackling subterranean fatbergs. Many cities around the world are at daily risk of of suffering a municipal coronary. And flooded streets are just one possible outcome. Two years ago a fatberg in a main sewer in Bristol resulted in a discharge of raw sewage into the River Trym, killing hundreds of eels, sticklebacks and bullheads.
Sunday, August 09, 2015
Sunday Crass Commercialism
Been pretty lazy about reading actual books in the last couple of years. After staring at a computer all day about all I can handle usually are comic books graphic novels. Been reading those pictureless novels a bit more lately, turning off the screen a bit more (yes that makes me a lazier blogger but also a saner one). I quite liked Station Eleven.
Suddenly They Discover The Residents
There hasn't been a lot of coverage of the impact of the Popeocalypse on the actual residents of Philadelphia, 180,000+ within the Popezone. Visitors, yes. Businesses, some. Residents? Not so much. But there are some residents who are on edge.
Does anyone in local media actually live in this little town?
Does anyone in local media actually live in this little town?
Nobody Could Have Predicted
One of the life's great mysteries is how many people want to entrust their children* for 6 hours per day to underpaid, undertrained, and resentful, given the current political climate, people.
Of course a teacher shortage was inevitable. Many teachers are near retirement. There's been a general attack on the profession, including reducing wages, benefits, and, yes, prestige. If I had been advising someone a few years ago who was considering going into teaching I would have told them they were nuts. Whether or not that would have been good advice (an acute enough shortage might actually turn things around for the career), it seemed to be pretty solid at the time, and given college enrollments in the field it's apparently advice that was followed by many.
*There always the "other people's children" aspect, but plenty of people are cheap with their babysitters and nannies, too, including people who can afford not to be.
ROHNERT PARK, Calif. — In a stark about-face from just a few years ago, school districts have gone from handing out pink slips to scrambling to hire teachers.
Across the country, districts are struggling with shortages of teachers, particularly in math, science and special education — a result of the layoffs of the recession years combined with an improving economy in which fewer people are training to be teachers.
At the same time, a growing number of English-language learners are entering public schools, yet it is increasingly difficult to find bilingual teachers. So schools are looking for applicants everywhere they can — whether out of state or out of country — and wooing candidates earlier and quicker.
Some are even asking prospective teachers to train on the job, hiring novices still studying for their teaching credentials, with little, if any, classroom experience.
Of course a teacher shortage was inevitable. Many teachers are near retirement. There's been a general attack on the profession, including reducing wages, benefits, and, yes, prestige. If I had been advising someone a few years ago who was considering going into teaching I would have told them they were nuts. Whether or not that would have been good advice (an acute enough shortage might actually turn things around for the career), it seemed to be pretty solid at the time, and given college enrollments in the field it's apparently advice that was followed by many.
*There always the "other people's children" aspect, but plenty of people are cheap with their babysitters and nannies, too, including people who can afford not to be.
America's* Most Popular Human
Chris Christie.
*America refers to "Real Americans" which of course means the people who inhabit the Green Rooms of various news programs.
There’s another bad poll for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and this one has nothing to do with his presidential aspirations.
For the second time in a month, a survey of the folks back home shows a record number of people unhappy with his performance.
*America refers to "Real Americans" which of course means the people who inhabit the Green Rooms of various news programs.
Stop Killing People
I just don't get it.
Guns don't kill people (well, they do, really) but they sure do make it easy.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – The Harris County Sheriff's Office says a man has surrendered after five kids and three adults were shot dead at a home late Saturday evening.
Guns don't kill people (well, they do, really) but they sure do make it easy.
Saturday, August 08, 2015
We Won't Be Handling It, We'll Just Be Telling People What To Do
Non-denial denials.
I don't really know what's going on, of course, but there has been a constant stream of unofficial, quasi-official, and official leaks followed by various denials and walkbacks and then confirmation of the basic hellscape that is to come. Whatever details aren't quite right, the basic security plan is insane, starting with the effective closure of the public transit system (no what they're doing is not efficient, it's nuts and won't work). If everything else follows from the logic behind the confirmed rendering of the transit system useless, then anyone who gets anywhere near the city for the Popeocalypse is making a big mistake.
And if I'm wrong, they'd better improve their PR game, because it's shit.
John Hanson, chief executive of the DRPA, complained publicly last week that the DRPA and other agencies were frustrated about their inability to make security decisions until the Secret Service announced what it was going to do.
"Visitors to the City of Brotherly Love will not see magnetometers waiting for them on the bridge, nor will they see Secret Service or City of Philadelphia 'screening stations,' " the Secret Service said in its statement, without addressing what would be done by other agencies, such as the DRPA or Camden County police forces.
I don't really know what's going on, of course, but there has been a constant stream of unofficial, quasi-official, and official leaks followed by various denials and walkbacks and then confirmation of the basic hellscape that is to come. Whatever details aren't quite right, the basic security plan is insane, starting with the effective closure of the public transit system (no what they're doing is not efficient, it's nuts and won't work). If everything else follows from the logic behind the confirmed rendering of the transit system useless, then anyone who gets anywhere near the city for the Popeocalypse is making a big mistake.
And if I'm wrong, they'd better improve their PR game, because it's shit.
"Culture of Respect, Collegiality, and Collaboration"
It's very collegial and respectful to pretend you didn't hire someone you hired after they quit their last tenured job, sold their house, and moved across the country.
All that really matters is that we smile when we destroy each others lives. It's the tone the matters. Be nice people! Let's not get all hung up on who is killing whom!!!
I've been rolling my eyes at the tone police since the Iraq war. Mean signs were so much more troubling than, say, bombing the children to death. Be nice people!
All that really matters is that we smile when we destroy each others lives. It's the tone the matters. Be nice people! Let's not get all hung up on who is killing whom!!!
I've been rolling my eyes at the tone police since the Iraq war. Mean signs were so much more troubling than, say, bombing the children to death. Be nice people!
At Least He Didn't Call Her A Goat Fucking Child Molester
Erick Son Of Erick does not like the competition for most disgusting creep in the conservative world.
Sent poor Erick to the fainting couch.
Unlike the Fox News debates that divided the 17-candidate field into two groups on crowded stages, the RedState Gathering in Atlanta offered several of those seeking the Republican nomination a half-hour all to themselves. On Saturday, the lineup includes former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
Businessman Donald Trump had been on the program, but late Friday RedState's Erick Erickson said he was withdrawing his invitation because of a comment Trump made earlier that evening about Fox News debate moderator Megyn Kelly.
Sent poor Erick to the fainting couch.
Sounds Like A Communist
Didn't Dr. Kelsey understand that if drugs are bad for you the magic of the marketplace would ensure that nobody would buy them?
Dr. Kelsey, who died on Friday at the age of 101, became a 20th-century American heroine for her role in the thalidomide case, celebrated not only for her vigilance, which spared the United States from widespread birth deformities, but also for giving rise to modern laws regulating pharmaceuticals.
Nice Work
When our betters screw up, the biggest punishment is a minor bit of public embarrassment followed by a lifetime of never having to worry about money again.
I'll screw up that badly. Just give me a chance!
I'll screw up that badly. Just give me a chance!
Friday, August 07, 2015
Nice Work
Appreciate a world where employees can criticize their employers, but this is a bit weird...
City Gone Mad
The good news is that there aren't 100,000 Pope fans per day stupid enough to walk from Camden to the Ben Franklin Parkway (minimum 4 miles each way). The bad news is that the people in charge are this stupid and horrible. I have no idea how people can think this can possibly work at all in any way.
Just put it in the football stadium. Not that many people will show anyway.
Just put it in the football stadium. Not that many people will show anyway.
Screwing The Pooch
One doesn't have to have any position on Salaita (not ducking the argument, just saying Salaita actually isn't the issue here), to see the UIUC totally fucked this whole thing up and will pay and pay and pay....
I Am A Bad Political Blogger
I admit I missed both the JV and Varisty Model United Nations club events. I figure I'll have 400 more chances or so.
What'd I miss?
What'd I miss?
Morning Thread
From what I'm reading there was an event yesterday evening and Trump trumped the field.
Thursday, August 06, 2015
Anyone Know How This Makes Any Sense?
If you have a car in the popezone by whatever time the popezone archery tower checkpoints go up, you can drive around the popezone (not the super double plus popezone, but the restricted driving area). But if you leave the popezone, you can't come back.
I have no idea what the point of this is, and I'm the guy who wants to ban all the cars.
As for kids? Well, they're going to close the schools for 2, possibly 3, extra days. Good luck working parents!
In essence, incoming traffic will be banned from Girard Avenue to South Street, and from the Delaware River to 38th Street, beginning Friday, Sept. 25, and ending early on Sept. 28. Vehicles already within that zone will be allowed to move freely. Also some roads will be open to emergency vehicles only. The Schuylkill will be closed to traffic beginning at 10 p.m. Sept. 25, the Ben Franklin Bridge will be open to pedestrians only, and I-95 will not close.
I have no idea what the point of this is, and I'm the guy who wants to ban all the cars.
As for kids? Well, they're going to close the schools for 2, possibly 3, extra days. Good luck working parents!
How To Get Fired As A Cop
Failing a drug test seems to be about the only way.
Yes they were acquitted. Innocent according to a jury and therefore legally innocent. But the facts of the case were, uh, factual...
Perry Betts, one of the six Philadelphia Police narcotics officers who recently won back his job after being acquitted in a federal corruption case, is about to be booted from the force again.
...
Betts, a law enforcement source said, failed a drug test that was part of a medical exam required before he could rejoin the force.
Betts tested positive for marijuana, the source said.
Yes they were acquitted. Innocent according to a jury and therefore legally innocent. But the facts of the case were, uh, factual...
Wednesday, August 05, 2015
This Was A Stupid Idea
We had the semi-official leaks and then the semi-official denials and then all the Very Serious People talking about how silly little people had crazy ideas about what security measures would be put in place. And then of course.
If that's what you "need" to do (you don't) to host this kind of public event in a city (shutting down the city), then don't host this kind of public event in a city.
It doesn't bother me because it will affect my life. It bothers me because it's stupid (and likely dangerous and will contribute to problems not prevent them).
If that's what you "need" to do (you don't) to host this kind of public event in a city (shutting down the city), then don't host this kind of public event in a city.
It doesn't bother me because it will affect my life. It bothers me because it's stupid (and likely dangerous and will contribute to problems not prevent them).
Throw Out The Voters We Don't Like
Such a farce.
What does it even been to be a "known opponent."
Labour MPs have been ordered to vet people who have applied to join the party, amid growing concern that Trotskyists and others are signing up to vote for Jeremy Corbyn in the leadership election.
Harriet Harman, Labour’s acting leader, has sent all the party’s MPs the names of the recruits in their constituencies, and asked them to weed out known opponents.
What does it even been to be a "known opponent."
Tuesday, August 04, 2015
Because We're A Shitty Little City
A "real" "important" city wouldn't be subject to this shit.
Was looking forward to the DNC because this shit shouldn't be necessary. Now realize they'll impose it anyway.
Was looking forward to the DNC because this shit shouldn't be necessary. Now realize they'll impose it anyway.
Happy, Happy Time
Seems Walker has a problem managing his personal finances. Still, I guess it tells us he's not grifting to enrich himself. Yet.
Who is the Baddest of the Bad
And who gets the Benjamins.
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s top intelligence, counterterrorism and law enforcement officials are divided over which terrorist group poses the biggest threat to the American homeland, the Islamic State or Al Qaeda and its affiliates.
...
This is not an academic argument. It will influence how the government allocates billions of dollars in counterterrorism funds, and how it assigns thousands of federal agents, intelligence analysts and troops to combat a multipronged threat that senior officials say is changing rapidly.
This Is Not Going To Be A Positive Development For Society
A dystopian future awaits.
Can we reverse the ageing process by putting young blood into older people?
A series of experiments has produced incredible results by giving young blood to old mice. Now the findings are being tested on humans.
Monday, August 03, 2015
The Very Serious People Go To London
It's all so familiar, this branding of anyone vaguely to the left of whoever UK's equivalent of Joe Lieberman is as being silly and childish.
As Jones suggests, the truth is that all the more Blairite New Labour people need to do is embrace the genuinely good things that Labour did while they were in government. But since they decided not to battle the Tory "ZOMG LABOUR SPENT ALL THE MONEYS" narrative, they can't do that. At least Miliband could muster up the "not quite as evil as the other guys" narrative reasonably well. Post-Miliband, Labour can't even manage that. As useless as a marzipan dildo.
As Jones suggests, the truth is that all the more Blairite New Labour people need to do is embrace the genuinely good things that Labour did while they were in government. But since they decided not to battle the Tory "ZOMG LABOUR SPENT ALL THE MONEYS" narrative, they can't do that. At least Miliband could muster up the "not quite as evil as the other guys" narrative reasonably well. Post-Miliband, Labour can't even manage that. As useless as a marzipan dildo.
I Wonder What Econ 101 Could Tell Us About This
I always get amused when people point to certain jobs - usually public sector ones - and complain about how they pay and benefits are too generous. You know, bus drivers, teachers, etc. If it's such a good job, you go drive the damn bus! My local transit authority has had job listings for bus drivers every time I've looked.
Make it a crappier job with crappier pay and people will leave. It's true that job security is an enormous perk in a society in which few people have it. It's also true that job security is an enormous perk which allows school districts to pay their workers a lot less. Take it away, and...
Make it a crappier job with crappier pay and people will leave. It's true that job security is an enormous perk in a society in which few people have it. It's also true that job security is an enormous perk which allows school districts to pay their workers a lot less. Take it away, and...
Teachers can’t hotfoot it out of Kansas fast enough, creating a substantial shortage expected only to get much worse. Why?
Well, there’s the low pay. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average teaching salary in 2012-2013 (the latest year for which data were available, in constant 2012-2013 dollars), was $47,464, lower than the pay in all but seven states (Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and West Virginia), though not by much in most of them.
Last year, job protections were cut by state lawmakers, who have also sought to reduce collective-bargaining rights for public employees.
Ruh Roh
Grand old police blotter.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been booked at a Dallas-area jail on felony charges alleging that he misled investors before becoming the state's top lawyer.
...
Questions about Paxton's financial dealings have shadowed the tea party conservative since he took office in January.
Mysteries of Success
I get how completely ruthless assholes manage to rise to the top, but some assholes seem to lack even the tiniest bit of the social skills I would think would be necessary to achieve success. A lot of these people seem to do really well. It isn't that easy to convince a lot of people that you are the asshole they should send to the governor's mansion, as opposed to all of the other assholes. How do they manage?
Nice Trick
Greatest trick the banksters pulled was convincing the world that it was unpossible to default on a loan. We'll see how this plays out.
Puerto Ricans can just move to the US (those with the means, anyway) if the banksters try to destroy it.
Puerto Rico will miss a payment on debt due Aug. 1, the governor's chief of staff said on Friday, an event that will be considered a default by investors as the commonwealth lurches towards what could be one of the largest U.S. municipal debt restructurings in history.
Puerto Ricans can just move to the US (those with the means, anyway) if the banksters try to destroy it.
Sunday, August 02, 2015
There Was Never A STEM Shortage
It never showed up in the data. It was always bullshit. Why certain powerful people chose to believe it I do not know. That many universities believe that their future lies in STEM majors - and are hiring and cutting based on that belief - is maddening.
Fustercluck
Leaving aside the question of what security precautions should be in place ideally, if this is the level of coordination fail that's going on then it's just going to be a complete mess. In other words, it isn't really about security. It rarely is. I just don't know what it's really about.
Ridiculous and incompetent. That's how you make things secure!
On Thursday, the federal agency issued an unusual release denying that it dictated SEPTA limits on rail service for that weekend or that it had ordered Philadelphia businesses to shut down.
The blame game continued Friday afternoon, with SEPTA challenging the Secret Service, saying it had no choice but to shut stations rather than comply with unworkable security rules.
Ridiculous and incompetent. That's how you make things secure!
Saturday, August 01, 2015
Nobody Could Have Predicted
Must increase gasoline shipments to our firefighters.
While American military trainers had gone to great lengths to protect the initial group of trainees from attacks by Islamic State or Syrian Army forces, they did not anticipate an assault from the Nusra Front. In fact, officials said on Friday, they expected the Nusra Front to welcome Division 30 as an ally in its fight against the Islamic State.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen like this,” said one former senior American official, who was working closely on Syria issues until recently, and who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential intelligence assessments.
The Nusra Front said in a statement on Friday that its aim was to eliminate Division 30 before it could gain a deeper foothold in Syria. The Nusra Front did much the same last year when it smashed the main groups that had been trained and equipped in a different American effort, one run covertly by the C.I.A.
Extradition
Not that I object, but I admit I find it a bit surprising that we allow extradition at all.
Walter Palmer, the wealthy big-game hunter who killed a famous lion, could be headed back to Africa — if the Zimbabwe government has its way.
On Friday, officials in Zimbabwe said they intended to press ahead with a request to extradite Palmer for killing a lion known as Cecil just outside a sanctuary where the animal was protected. Later, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it had finally contacted Palmer, a dentist who had shuttered his practice in Minnesota a few days ago and disappeared.
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