Saturday, January 24, 2015
That's Cold
But I'm surprised that people generally set their thermostats so high, especially at night. I think I set mine at 55 freedom degrees overnight and that's totally fine with a good comforter.
They're Only Dancing
Obviously the contractor won't be on the hook because freedom, so it'll be a battle between Seattle and Washington forever...
Stay Tuned
Oh my.
ALBANY — U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s warning to “stay tuned” for more corruption arrests after he bagged Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has sent a big chill through the state Capitol.
“I think everyone is waiting for the next shoe to drop,” said one legislative official.
Added former Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, a Westchester Democrat: “When a prosecutor says stay tuned, I think he means it.”
The big fish reportedly being looked at is Gov. Cuomo.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Actually, It's About Ethics In Blogging
Once upon a time blogger ethics was the hot topic for some journalists. Basically, they all had Teh Ethics because Assume Ethics (beat sweeteners are totally ethical! for realz!) but who knows what the bloogers are doing? They're all getting rich, probably! On the take from moneyed interests (I wish!) directing every word they wrote.
I always just rolled my eyes because, for one reason, it seemed that none of these journalists were aware of this thing called the Opinion Pages which regularly appeared in their journal of serious objective discoveries.
I always just rolled my eyes because, for one reason, it seemed that none of these journalists were aware of this thing called the Opinion Pages which regularly appeared in their journal of serious objective discoveries.
Mourning
Saudia Arabia has a horrible government and horrible policies, especially if you think 50%+ of the population might actually matter a wee bit. It is truly one of the worst countries in the world. Maybe North Korea gives them a bit of competition. I've never quite understood the realpolitik that requires that we are their bestest buddies, even though many people have tried to explain it to me. But, fine, maybe there are things my hippie blogger mind can't understand. Our State Department has its reasons. Still, why does the press play along so much? If [random left wing South American president] was 1% as horrible as Saudi Arabia, the Washington Post editorial board would never stop freaking out about it.
Business Models
I'm sure the readership of the New York Times is a bit more affluent than average, and of course being in NYC skews your perception of real estate prices, but there really just aren't that many rich people. Maybe don't try so hard to cater to them?
FREEDOM!!!!!
Every few years or so conservatives find some example of eminent domain abuse (and while a necessary power, it certainly can be abused) they decide is the Worst Thing Evah and then forget about the whole issue for awhile.
Keystone XL would be an eminent domain abuse nightmare.
Keystone XL would be an eminent domain abuse nightmare.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Mini Movie Review
Into the Woods was kinda meh. Decent enough representation of the musical, but didn't really seem to even try to add any movie magic.
Only White People Can Be Licensed Gun Owners
As Saint Reagan demonstrated, the best way to get gun control laws passed is to have a bunch of black people packing. Of course, it's also a good way to get a bunch of black people killed so I am not recommending this as a plan.
Pricey
New Yorkers do benefit from the fact that the subway system has single fare pricing, that the base fare can take you a very long way, but $2.75 is still pretty pricey...
How many of these people do you think are regular riders?
How many of these people do you think are regular riders?
No-Go Zones
I ask again, do any of these people ever travel anywhere outside their limos?
They host guests who actually put numbers to "no-go zones." It's so beyond absurd. We might have to change the question to "stupid, lying, or just completely fucking psychotic?"
They host guests who actually put numbers to "no-go zones." It's so beyond absurd. We might have to change the question to "stupid, lying, or just completely fucking psychotic?"
Farm Subsidies Don't Count
It's baked into the American Way, John. It's been with us for a long time.
Major Major’s father was a sober God-fearing man whose idea of a good joke was to lie about his age. He was a longlimbed farmer, a God-fearing, freedom-loving, law-abiding rugged individualist who held that federal aid to anyone but farmers was creeping socialism. He advocated thrift and hard work and disapproved of loose women who turned him down. His specialty was alfalfa, and he made a good thing out of not growing any. The government paid him well for every bushel of alfalfa he did not grow. The more alfalfa he did not grow, the more money the government gave him, and he spent every penny he didn’t earn on new land to increase the amount of alfalfa he did not produce. Major Major’s father worked without rest at not growing alfalfa. On long winter evenings he remained indoors and did not mend harness, and he sprang out of bed at the crack of noon every day just to make certain that the chores would not be done. He invested in land wisely and soon was not growing more alfalfa than any other man in the county. Neighbors sought him out for advice on all subjects, for he had made much money and was therefore wise. “As ye sow, so shall ye reap,” he counseled one and all, and everyone said, “Amen.”
Major Major’s father was an outspoken champion of economy in government, provided it did not interfere with the sacred duty of government to pay farmers as much as they could get for all the alfalfa they produced that no one else wanted or for not producing any alfalfa at all. He was a proud and independent man who was opposed to unemployment insurance and never hesitated to whine, whimper, wheedle and extort for as much as he could get from whomever he could.
Wazed
If I remember correctly, the last time I was in LA, whatever freeway I was on was a parking lot so I (I wasn't driving) instructed my little magic phone device to find me an alternate route and it did. I don't think it really routed me through residential neighborhoods, but it probably did somewhat.
The extra traffic is something residents will probably have to deal with, but drivers should stop with the speeding and the rolling stops. They aren't saving them any time. Most aggressive driving doesn't.
The extra traffic is something residents will probably have to deal with, but drivers should stop with the speeding and the rolling stops. They aren't saving them any time. Most aggressive driving doesn't.
That's A Lot
I kind of respect it. If you're going to be corrupt, go big.
The powerful speaker of the New York State Assembly, Sheldon Silver, was arrested on federal corruption charges on Thursday and accused of using the power of his office to solicit millions in bribes and kickbacks, according to court documents.
Morning Thread
Looks like the Philadelphia area might get hit hard Saturday by old man winter. Best run out and get some milk and toilet paper.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
If Only We Could Help To Prevent This
Vaccinate your damn kids.'
There was a moment when I took the thimerosal-autism link seriously. Not in a "this must be true!" sense, but in the sense that there was a time when kids were getting more than acceptable levels of mercury in vaccines which seemed to correlate with the rise of diagonsed autism. It was a theory. A reasonable one. It seems that it wasn't a provable theory, and in any case the kids aren't getting that much mercury anymore.
I get that parents with autistic kids had thought they had found the cause. It doesn't seem that was correct.
In any case, vaccinate your kids.
There was a moment when I took the thimerosal-autism link seriously. Not in a "this must be true!" sense, but in the sense that there was a time when kids were getting more than acceptable levels of mercury in vaccines which seemed to correlate with the rise of diagonsed autism. It was a theory. A reasonable one. It seems that it wasn't a provable theory, and in any case the kids aren't getting that much mercury anymore.
I get that parents with autistic kids had thought they had found the cause. It doesn't seem that was correct.
In any case, vaccinate your kids.
Wonk'd
For years journalists have informed us that Bobby Jindal is one of the brightest bulbs in the Republican shiny light display.
Pretty sure that's not really true.
Really wondering why he's choosing this hill to die on.
Pretty sure that's not really true.
Really wondering why he's choosing this hill to die on.
Well That's A Problem
The Boys have been gunning for her from day one, but that doesn't mean they don't have anything.
And Lanny Davis? Really?
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A grand jury says there are reasonable grounds to charge Pennsylvania’s attorney general with perjury, false swearing, official oppression and obstruction after an investigation into leaks of secret grand jury material.
The records released Wednesday by the state Supreme Court indicate the grand jury’s Dec. 18 presentment in the case of Attorney General Kathleen Kane has been sent to the district attorney in Montgomery County for any prosecution.
Kane spokesman Lanny Davis says special prosecutor Thomas Carluccio didn’t find evidence she leaked material and calls the recommended charges “utterly false, even absurd.”
And Lanny Davis? Really?
Mass Transit Ideas From People Who Don't Understand Mass Transit
I lean towards "build all the trains everywhere" as even dumb nice things are better than no nice things, but too often these things look liked whoever thought of them never saw a train before.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Retirement For These People Is Going To Be A Disaster
Not enough people have 401(k)s or similar, those that do don't have much money in them, and the Great Recession led to many either cashing out or taking out loans against them. If only there was some popular program that could be expanded in anticipation of this event which might appeal to voters.
All Hail The Governor Tom Wolf Era
The finally gone guy, Tom Corbett, had one redeeming quality: he wasn't that good at being bad. He was bad, but he just wasn't all that competent at it, and fortunately wasn't competent enough to get re-elected.
Cities Are Scary, Europe Is Scary, Muslims Are Scary, The Moops Have Invaded
This doesn't actually need any rebuttal, because it isn't just false, it's bonkers, but there's obviously an audience for it. Scary brown people have taken over the place!
No Jobs, No Money
I knew there was a housing bubble (not how badly it would burst, and not that it would come close to taking the world with it when it did) because I knew that there was no way that many people, especially those living in places like Southern California, had enough money to afford those houses. The teaser rate mortgages with expected refinancing to another teaser rate mortgage in 3 years couldn't last forever. And it didn't.
People still have no money. Incomes are stagnant, and even if the jobs situation has improved, the hangover from the Great Recession is still here. And lots of people were completely screwed by financial institutions and are unlikely to want to play that particular game again.
I'm not sure how much opening the credit spigot again will actually lure people back to buying houses, but to the extent that it does it's probably a bad idea.
People still have no money. Incomes are stagnant, and even if the jobs situation has improved, the hangover from the Great Recession is still here. And lots of people were completely screwed by financial institutions and are unlikely to want to play that particular game again.
I'm not sure how much opening the credit spigot again will actually lure people back to buying houses, but to the extent that it does it's probably a bad idea.
You Lie
SOTU day! yay! Predicting Obama will NOT be bipartisany enough and all the pundits will have a sad because he failed to change Washington and lead.
Monday, January 19, 2015
Bust
I can't quantify this meaningfully, but my impression is that so much of the coverage of lower oil prices has focused on the impacts on the oil industry and realted. I thought we were just supposed say "yay lower gas prices!" and go about our day.
Not saying there's anything wrong with such coverage, just been struck by the quantity of it.
Not saying there's anything wrong with such coverage, just been struck by the quantity of it.
Laying Pipe
It's absurd to think that any conservative or swing voter without a direct financial interest in Keystone actually gives a shit about it. Environmentalists care about opposing it, Limbaugh junkies "care" because libturds but they don't actually care.
Clouds of Smug
No opinion on anything of substance here, but wow I hate when local leaders talk about their townships/cities like this.
But officials and residents of the Main Line community say the new plan - for an office park near the heavily traveled intersection of the Blue Route and Lancaster Avenue - is even worse.
"The dismay that I feel, it comes from the fact that this is a very sophisticated community and we should be able to come up with a better solution for this site," Commissioner Elaine Schaefer said at last Monday's meeting when the plan was presented. She said the latest designs were reminiscent of a 1970s office building.
"Free-Range Parenting" Stickers? Really?
There's a lot about this story that makes me want to call BS. It's ideologically self-flattering, one-sided, and omits context.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I call bullshit.
Could be wrong!
MAS. It wasn't stickers but "Free Range Kid" IDs they "forgot that day." Hoax, folks -- could be wrong!
Maybe I'm wrong, but I call bullshit.
Could be wrong!
MAS. It wasn't stickers but "Free Range Kid" IDs they "forgot that day." Hoax, folks -- could be wrong!
Sunday, January 18, 2015
If Only We Had A Method Of Preventing This
Oy.
There are now 51 confirmed cases of the highly contagious virus across California, three other states and Mexico, and the Orange County Health Care Agency said the reports of new cases “indicate the measles outbreak will continue to spread.”
Morning Thread
Watched the FRONTLINE episode: Gunned Down: The Power of the NRA. I was struck by how the reporter spoke about Washington, D.C. and the rest of the country as if they were two separate entities. D.C. thinks one way, the rest the country thinks another way, and guess who wins?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)