, tooWednesday, August 31, 2016
Build It And I Will Pay For It
Pretty sure if I promise to pay for the wall on completion I'll never have to pay.
Suggestions
I spent the early afternoon consulting with the Evil League of Evil Labor Economists, and here were their suggestions for how to attract workers if you're having some trouble doing so.
a) Offer a higher wage. Yes, yes, wages, are so 20th century, but The Kids Today have a strange affinity for them. Maybe it's nostalgia. They even want dollars, and not Bitcoins or Applebucks.
b) Good health insurance. Weirdly, even though President Kenyan Muslim Socialist nationalized the health care industry, some Kids Today just aren't happy with their death panels and want their companies to buy redundant policies for them. Silly Kids Today.
c) Retirement benefits. Yes, yes, they've been watching too many old movies. Silent movies, starring Steve Simels mostly. But The Kids Today have these romantic notions that come retirement they won't have to do a Logan's Run or face their prescribed destiny. They've been told their whole lives that Social Security just won't be there for them so they need an alternative. Blame whoever keeps telling them that (shhh!!!!).
d) On the job training. It's true The Kids Today don't major in anything useful, unlike the Greatest Generation and the Second Greatest Generation and the Pretty Good Generation After That who all had degrees in Physics or Engineering before going on to work in opinion journalism, but that's the labor force you have to deal with. Might have to show them a thing or two.
e) Job Security. The Kids Today would like some assurances that their jobs might be around a few months hence. Yes that goes against everything the Washington Post opinion page has been telling you. Tenure of any kind is anathema to them. The job turnover there is brutal. It seems that every 20 or 30 years or so there's a new columnist!
It's going to take a lot to lure them from their parents' basements. But, sadly, that pesky 13th Amendment was ratified, or so they claim, so if you want The Kids Today to come work for you, sacrifices must be made.
a) Offer a higher wage. Yes, yes, wages, are so 20th century, but The Kids Today have a strange affinity for them. Maybe it's nostalgia. They even want dollars, and not Bitcoins or Applebucks.
b) Good health insurance. Weirdly, even though President Kenyan Muslim Socialist nationalized the health care industry, some Kids Today just aren't happy with their death panels and want their companies to buy redundant policies for them. Silly Kids Today.
c) Retirement benefits. Yes, yes, they've been watching too many old movies. Silent movies, starring Steve Simels mostly. But The Kids Today have these romantic notions that come retirement they won't have to do a Logan's Run or face their prescribed destiny. They've been told their whole lives that Social Security just won't be there for them so they need an alternative. Blame whoever keeps telling them that (shhh!!!!).
d) On the job training. It's true The Kids Today don't major in anything useful, unlike the Greatest Generation and the Second Greatest Generation and the Pretty Good Generation After That who all had degrees in Physics or Engineering before going on to work in opinion journalism, but that's the labor force you have to deal with. Might have to show them a thing or two.
e) Job Security. The Kids Today would like some assurances that their jobs might be around a few months hence. Yes that goes against everything the Washington Post opinion page has been telling you. Tenure of any kind is anathema to them. The job turnover there is brutal. It seems that every 20 or 30 years or so there's a new columnist!
It's going to take a lot to lure them from their parents' basements. But, sadly, that pesky 13th Amendment was ratified, or so they claim, so if you want The Kids Today to come work for you, sacrifices must be made.
I Wonder What They Didn't Think Of
Economists aren't right about everything, but they do have some pretty groundbreaking ideas about what employers can do to attract new workers into their professions/companies if they are having a difficult time hiring people. Maybe some economists should talk to these employers, because they apparently are unaware, as is the person who wrote the story.
They do have some cunning plans. Maybe they'll even work!
They do have some cunning plans. Maybe they'll even work!
But, he said, manufacturers need to romance them - to show them how their work on a product makes a difference, maybe keeping a jetliner aloft or a heart beating.
Mismatch
One of the phenomenon studied due to the suburbanization of employment was spatial mismatch, that there was a mismatch between where people lived and where jobs they were qualified to get were located. Roughly, for various reasons, less educated people lived in cities, without cars, and the jobs they would be able to get were in the suburbs, requiring either a car they didn't have or a nightmarish public transit commute to places with horrible public transit.(It was more complicated than this, of course, with enforced residential segregation and other types of racial discrimination having a large impact on location patterns).
As poverty moves to the suburbs, people are going to be in worst-of-both-worlds territory. They'll need a car for jobs, and for everything else, and cars are expensive things. And while there is no secret welfare system, it is the case that there are often more readily available social services and similar support systems - private and public - in some urban areas.
As poverty moves to the suburbs, people are going to be in worst-of-both-worlds territory. They'll need a car for jobs, and for everything else, and cars are expensive things. And while there is no secret welfare system, it is the case that there are often more readily available social services and similar support systems - private and public - in some urban areas.
Coffeafascism
Unlike Roy, I don't think this guy is actually laughing at "the dopes who take him seriously." He takes himself very seriously. Coffee cups disagreeing with him regularly is the kind of oppression that only a second home can make right. And in Rhode Island, he can get real American Coffee Milk, and not this euro-trash Frappucino bullshit.
No one tell him Rhode Island went 63% for Obama in 2012, even after the 4 years he spent destroying the country and putting propaganda on your paper cups.
No one tell him Rhode Island went 63% for Obama in 2012, even after the 4 years he spent destroying the country and putting propaganda on your paper cups.
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Rhee Era
Rhee had everyone in DC convinced that she was saint and savior, the one woman capable of fixing the schools by opening a can of whoop ass (firing them) on the evil teachers and principals who stood in her way. Of course it was all bullshit.
Oh well, bygones. Not our fault, really, but boy did we get to pretend to care about those kids for a little while.
Oh well, bygones. Not our fault, really, but boy did we get to pretend to care about those kids for a little while.
And Let's Tell The Press About It
Campaign press strategies mystify me.
Who needs George Will?
Hillary Clinton’s advisers are talking to Donald J. Trump’s ghostwriter of “The Art of the Deal,” seeking insights about Mr. Trump’s deepest insecurities as they devise strategies to needle and undermine him in four weeks at the first presidential debate, the most anticipated in a generation.
Her team is also getting advice from psychology experts to help create a personality profile of Mr. Trump to gauge how he may respond to attacks and deal with a woman as his sole adversary on the debate stage.
They are undertaking a forensic-style analysis of Mr. Trump’s performances in the Republican primary debates, cataloging strengths and weaknesses as well as trigger points that caused him to lash out in less-than-presidential ways.
Who needs George Will?
Monday, August 29, 2016
Donald Trump Lives In The Inner City
There are parts of Philly which aren't so different from the post-apocalyptic 1970s urban dystopia Trump keeps talking about. That is, parts the "inner city" where all black people live in Trump's imagination do exist, sort of. I don't think the lives of the people who live there are anything close to what he imagines, though he's probably correct if he thinks they don't all live in gold-plated homes. Still, high crime blighted poverty-stricken urban places do exist and African-Americans do disproportionately live in such places. Disproportionately does not mean "all" or "a majority of" but, hey, when Trump speaks nothing but infinite truth comes out. Just ask him.
Donald Trump has lived in the "inner city" basically his entire life. I know New Yorkers often think New York exists in another dimension, but there was a time when the "urban problems" of New York were as bad as anywhere, even in the nicer parts of Manhattan. Just ask Snake Plissken. But things change.
Donald Trump has lived in the "inner city" basically his entire life. I know New Yorkers often think New York exists in another dimension, but there was a time when the "urban problems" of New York were as bad as anywhere, even in the nicer parts of Manhattan. Just ask Snake Plissken. But things change.
Both Sides
I can't even bring myself to do the asshole olympics between the two - I'll just say that their alleged and actual actions are also not exactly comparable - but one was chosen by Donald Trump to be the "CEO" (whatever that is) of his campaign and one was not hired by Hillary Clinton to do anything.
The problem for Clinton team - after Democrats repeatedly pointed to Bannon personal past, going to be hard to argue Weiner is off limits
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) August 29, 2016
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Hopers
Preppers aren't worried about the coming apocalypse, they're hoping it comes. Future feudal lords, and all that.
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Totally Tubular
Overnight tube service is very welcome, though the Night bus lines are much better than they used to be and a lot more routes just run with decent service levels for 24 hours. Still a quicker ride home for many, especially late night workers (and a quicker ride to work for the early shift), will be welcome.
Don't Bad Things Happen to Everybody?
Not that I'm wishing it, but thinking about the lack of empathy (and certainly lack of sympathy) of many of our great and glorious political leaders... hasn't bad shit happened to them too? Yeah, sure, for years I've been seeing conservatives (#notjustconservatives) take up a pet cause which makes them seem human only to discover the cause is something which affects them personally somehow, but are so many lives so wrinkle free that only one bad thing gets through? Sure having money helps a lot, but money doesn't solve all problems.
Friday, August 26, 2016
The Messicans Are Everywhere
I admit I find xenophobia to be really weird. Obviously it's generally racist - we love the Irish! at least we do now anyway - but just what is it about furriners that make so many people lose their shit. I do my best not to argue politics IRL because what's the point but I have had a couple of immigration discussions with people. Being against people who are here illegally is a nice safe position, because they're bad just because they did something illegal. Of course that isn't the real issue, and scratch the surface and you really do tend to get a strong distaste for "the other." Why? OK, I'll accept that maybe if you wake up one day and find yourself in a community of furriners instead of a community of people that you imagine are a part of more of a shared culture then people have an understandable negative reaction. Home and community are about what you know to a great degree. But the truth is the Messicans aren't everywhere. Most people aren't seeing their communities overrun by foreign hordes. So why care?
Deadly
My nephew just got his license. I don't know everything about how he specifically was raised, but the general "don't leave my sight until you're 16 at which point here's your 2 ton death machine" phenomenon is very weird to me. A lot of people die because of cars. Unlike guns, cars have useful purposes other than killing people (yes, some people hunt, some people shoot targets, most gun owners don't), but there's still a weird acceptance of the amount of carnage.
Spot The Key Phrase
Since I'm already on my favorite subject on FRIDAY FRIDAY.
Miss it? I'll put it in yellow for you.
They are correct about this:
It isn't "self-driving" if you have to monitor it all the time, and at 65 MPH there really isn't any time to switch activities if something goes wrong. At best they can be assured to be "self-driving" in specific geographic areas or types of driving (I'm even skeptical of this, but ok it's more possible). Sure you don't have to push the pedals and turn the steering wheel as much, but really the utility of this is barely worth the bother if you can't crawl in the back seat and take a nap. Either you have to pay attention or you don't. There really isn't a middle ground on that one.
Ford sided with the pioneering engineers at Google last week in announcing plans to introduce limited-use vehicles without traditional controls within five years. Some other major automakers — and virtually all of them are well along in their work on self-driving vehicles — say they will introduce automated elements one step at a time, until drivers accept that they no longer need to control their cars.
Miss it? I'll put it in yellow for you.
Ford sided with the pioneering engineers at Google last week in announcing plans to introduce limited-use vehicles without traditional controls within five years. Some other major automakers — and virtually all of them are well along in their work on self-driving vehicles — say they will introduce automated elements one step at a time, until drivers accept that they no longer need to control their cars.
They are correct about this:
“There was a brief period when people would be a little nervous and monitor the car very carefully,” said Google engineer Nathaniel Fairfield, “and then they would start to relax and they would sort of trust the system, and really over-trust the system, and start to get distracted.”
It isn't "self-driving" if you have to monitor it all the time, and at 65 MPH there really isn't any time to switch activities if something goes wrong. At best they can be assured to be "self-driving" in specific geographic areas or types of driving (I'm even skeptical of this, but ok it's more possible). Sure you don't have to push the pedals and turn the steering wheel as much, but really the utility of this is barely worth the bother if you can't crawl in the back seat and take a nap. Either you have to pay attention or you don't. There really isn't a middle ground on that one.
New Jersey Dreaming
I suppose one day everyone might happily be traveling in their self-driving cars to get a dose of the American Dream, and then everyone can mock stupid Atrios for being so stupid, but this ongoing disaster is providing me with much entertainment. Not "ha ha" entertainment, but, well...
Of course, there's that pesky infrastructure that someone needs to pay for...
Public infrastructure and services that need to be paid for? That's pre-Uber thinking, my friends.
Triple Five will repay the bondholders in revenue from the completed mall. The state is allowing American Dream to forgo up to $350 million in money that would otherwise go toward paying sales tax to instead repay the bonds.
The mall will repay the other $800 million to bondholders through a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement with East Rutherford.
The same agreement will see American Dream pay East Rutherford more than $150 million over the first 20 years of the project, including $23 million up front.
Of course, there's that pesky infrastructure that someone needs to pay for...
The bonds are non-recourse, meaning New Jersey taxpayers won't be on the hook if American Dream fails, Robert Tudor, bond counsel for the sports authority, said. However, critics of the deal said the state would be responsible for additional traffic, emergency and infrastructure costs and no extra revenue to cover those costs.
Public infrastructure and services that need to be paid for? That's pre-Uber thinking, my friends.
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Roadkill
We all do stupid things sometimes - sometimes really stupid - but I've seen long justifications for why it was a God given right to text and otherwise mess with their phones while driving. Sure I read these things by anonymous internet dwellers who might just be trolling, but it's a bit scary nonetheless. So, you know, don't text and drive. The first time I drove with a smartphone I had to put the phone in a bag on the floor because I realized the temptation was there. I don't know what to do about GPS navigation. Sure one can use a phone for that safely, but it's pretty easy for that evolve into using it in an unsafe fashion pretty quickly. Put your damn phones down when you drive.
On The Left, We Have Bill Kristol
And on the Right, we have actual explicit white supremacists.
I used to joke that the range of acceptable opinion went from The New Republic to The Free Republic in our media. Might have to update that joke.
I used to joke that the range of acceptable opinion went from The New Republic to The Free Republic in our media. Might have to update that joke.
Uber'd
I'm not surprised that Uber is losing a lot of money. It costs an immense amount to expand as fast as they have.
What I don't know is how they expect to maintain market share. It isn't clear how they obtain/maintain a near monopoly, which is what they need to make money with what they're doing. Otherwise...
Uber is one of those things that piss me off from a liberal perspective. Yes some local taxi monopolies suck, and especially if you're a person of color they aren't always exactly a functional service. But unlike with some businesses, there's a pretty direct correspondence with how much you paid and how much the person you paid gets to pocket. People who "fight for $15" one day, then brag about their cheap Uber experience the next really confuse me. A cheap ride means you just paid your driver shit.
What I don't know is how they expect to maintain market share. It isn't clear how they obtain/maintain a near monopoly, which is what they need to make money with what they're doing. Otherwise...
Uber is one of those things that piss me off from a liberal perspective. Yes some local taxi monopolies suck, and especially if you're a person of color they aren't always exactly a functional service. But unlike with some businesses, there's a pretty direct correspondence with how much you paid and how much the person you paid gets to pocket. People who "fight for $15" one day, then brag about their cheap Uber experience the next really confuse me. A cheap ride means you just paid your driver shit.
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Post-Apocalyptic Hellscape
It's a view that many Americans have of urban black America, where leaving your house is an invitation to be killed and most young black males are superpredators, ready to rob, rape, and kill. Especially whitey. Cross the border and if you're whitey you're dead instantly. A lot of those people also think that if only Republicans were in charge, and they enacted more tax free empowerment zones and locked up all the "bad guys" (but not the 2 or 3 good guys), then the stain of failed democratic policies would finally be lifted and conservative interracial nirvana would be reached, with everyone knowing their place, of course.
I sorta understand this from people for whom a "big city" is some alien land depicted on scary cop movies and the 6 o'clock news, but Trump lives in New York. Okay, I get that he doesn't really live in New York. He lives in Trump York, a world which contains his absurd condo, his limo, and the various elite places that limo takes him, most of which have Trump in the name somewhere. I doubt he even looks out the window very often. Still, if the New York outside of Trump York really is a post-apocalyptic hellscape, why live there at all?
I sorta understand this from people for whom a "big city" is some alien land depicted on scary cop movies and the 6 o'clock news, but Trump lives in New York. Okay, I get that he doesn't really live in New York. He lives in Trump York, a world which contains his absurd condo, his limo, and the various elite places that limo takes him, most of which have Trump in the name somewhere. I doubt he even looks out the window very often. Still, if the New York outside of Trump York really is a post-apocalyptic hellscape, why live there at all?
Taking It Back
Bit by bit much of the "privatized" aspects of London's public transportation system have been clawed back, with the process likely to continue. One could ask why that's good for the place where all the powerful people in the country live, and not for most of the rest of the country, where, for example, privatized bus fares are ridiculous and service often horrible, but that would be very rude indeed.
We Don't Want To Be Like Manhattan
One of the weird cultural things in the US is the equation of "urban" with "downtown" and "downtown" with "Manhattan-like." Basically, the city is where the skyscrapers are. NIMBYism related to density in urban areas that experience it (San Francisco especially these days) always raises the specter of 2-3 story residential neighborhoods being turned into "Manhattan" (And by Manhattan they mean Midtown or Downtown. You know, where the skyscrapers are).
Not everybody wants to live in Manhattan! Fair enough. But not even Manhattan is the "Manhattan" of the imagination. More importantly, the choice isn't between 2-3 floor detached single family homes and Manhattan. There's a big range inbetween. Aside from taking the pressure off of rents (no, realistic supply increases aren't going to crater SF rents, but they will at least temper increases a bit), a bit more density can maximize the value of those expensive transit links, provide more local demand for local businesses, and decrease per capita car use. The latter is important because those cars take up a lot of space!
City-as-skyscraperville was a pretty modern American development. Really only recently have tall buildings gone up in central London, and many European cities have them only on the outskirts if at all. But those cities are cities.
Not everybody wants to live in Manhattan! Fair enough. But not even Manhattan is the "Manhattan" of the imagination. More importantly, the choice isn't between 2-3 floor detached single family homes and Manhattan. There's a big range inbetween. Aside from taking the pressure off of rents (no, realistic supply increases aren't going to crater SF rents, but they will at least temper increases a bit), a bit more density can maximize the value of those expensive transit links, provide more local demand for local businesses, and decrease per capita car use. The latter is important because those cars take up a lot of space!
City-as-skyscraperville was a pretty modern American development. Really only recently have tall buildings gone up in central London, and many European cities have them only on the outskirts if at all. But those cities are cities.
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
This Blog Contains Multitudes
Unfortunately I've forgotten most of it. Fortunately I have readers with better memory than I have. The CEO of Mylan, the EpiPen Price Gouging Corporation, is Heather Bresch, the daughter of Senator Manchin. There was a bit of a controversy about her academics awhile back, though shockingly she's managed to do quite well in spite of it. Maybe that ethics class was one of the ones she missed.
(thanks to reader jh for the reminder)
(thanks to reader jh for the reminder)
The Only Way To Get A Good Resolution
The company that makes EpiPens has decided to gouge the hell out of people. There's nothing magical about the drugs. They're cheap and off patent. It's the delivery device. No one's having any luck getting a quality competitor past the FDA.
Will this crisis be solved? It probably depends on how many members of Congress have family members who need them.
Because that's how things work. Oh, and the CEO of the company that makes them just happens to be the daughter of another US senator. Because that's how things work, too.
Will this crisis be solved? It probably depends on how many members of Congress have family members who need them.
My daughter has severe allergies. I've seen firsthand that EpiPens are lifesavers & I'm pressing for answers https://t.co/kOJym0gvdV
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) August 23, 2016
Because that's how things work. Oh, and the CEO of the company that makes them just happens to be the daughter of another US senator. Because that's how things work, too.
Silly Paul
In New York City, all of the food is locally sourced and fresh local produce is available 11.5 months per year, much of it obtained through urban foraging, producing the finest possible native New York cuisine. How they do it just north of the New Jersey border is a bit of a mystery, I admit.
GooGoos
I also generally have a dim view of the organized Good Government organizations/institutions. The general "money and politics" issue is one of whack-a-mole, and the long focus on federal campaign contributions (largely rendered moot by Citizens United and its legal and cultural consequences) never seemed to do much other than raise compliance costs, and therefore the entry bar, significantly. Admittedly my views were somewhat colored by the attempt to make talking about politics on the internet illegal.
Other reforms, such as top 2 primaries, seem to be an agenda without a purpose. This will be better. Why? Because it will. Why? Because it will reduce the role of political parties. Why would that be good? Because Mr. Smith can go to Washington then, or something. This process will lead to better outcomes. What would those better outcomes be? Well they'd just be better. Why? Because something. How do you define a better outcome? An outcome that is a consequence of this better process.
Other reforms, such as top 2 primaries, seem to be an agenda without a purpose. This will be better. Why? Because it will. Why? Because it will reduce the role of political parties. Why would that be good? Because Mr. Smith can go to Washington then, or something. This process will lead to better outcomes. What would those better outcomes be? Well they'd just be better. Why? Because something. How do you define a better outcome? An outcome that is a consequence of this better process.
I Just Thought They Were Too Busy Buying Skinny Jeans
Such a mystery why those kids today behave in this weird incomprehensible fashion.
Nah. Must be because they just aren't mature like We Were when we were The Kids Today. Built our homes ourselves, we did, after putting our way through college on summer jobs while taking care of 3 children.
One, they’re putting off getting married, which many still see as a prerequisite to homeownership. (Though a large chunk of millennials, I should note, instead view homeownership as a prerequisite to marriage.)
Two — and this is part of the reason they’re delaying marriage, too — is that they’re poor.
Relative to earlier generations, today’s cohort of young people is making less money, given their levels of education; more indebted with student loans; more likely to be underemployed; struggling harder to sock away savings; and facing shallower income-growth trajectories.
In short: Millennials want to buy houses, but they simply can’t afford to.
Nah. Must be because they just aren't mature like We Were when we were The Kids Today. Built our homes ourselves, we did, after putting our way through college on summer jobs while taking care of 3 children.
Monday, August 22, 2016
Dumped By Trump
I am curious what Chris Christie thought he'd get out of humping Trump's leg, and why Trump seems to have basically dumped him (not just for Pence as VP, but generally). Yah I know Christie popped up for Trump's national security briefing, or whatever, but it's hard to believe he's still one of The Donald's favorite sons. But even if Trump wins it doesn't seem like there will be many table scraps for Christie, and he probably won't win, so he continues to hang that anchor around his neck because...?
Trump Nation
Whatever happens this November, a scary number of people are going to vote for Trump.
Saw my first South Philly house with a (not ironic) Trump sign yesterday. There was also a pope display in the window (generic Catholic pope figure/St. Peter's model, not a specific pope .that I could tell).
Make America great again.
Saw my first South Philly house with a (not ironic) Trump sign yesterday. There was also a pope display in the window (generic Catholic pope figure/St. Peter's model, not a specific pope .that I could tell).
Make America great again.
It's New
There are genuine difficulties - and of course costs - of maintaining legacy systems, but the JFK AirTrain is new. It shouldn't already be deteriorating to the point where headways need to be significantly cut. And the Port Authority can always find extra money in one of its several back pockets.
Let Us Know How That Worked Out In About 40 Years
In my dealings with people who were paid lots of money (and not) to think deep thoughts about retirement issues, there were 3 basic things I came across:
1) Expanding Social Security is unpossible and/or undesirable. As for the former, things in politics are unpossible until they aren't. And as for undesirable, the reasons were quite clear: ????? .
2) Even for people who weren't trying to (or in the wake of Bush's failure, didn't want to be seen as trying to) privatize Social Security, there was an obsession with people have a savings account that required some sort of personal responsibility. As in, you needed an account with your name on it and you needed to choose to put some money in it. Well, ok, that wasn't working, so we'll give you the option to opt out but you still have to choose not to opt out.
3) Since 401Ks had failed to provide for retirement, privatization wasn't (this week) going to happen, and Social Security expansion was unpossible and/or undesirable because ?????? what would be great is yet another exciting new program run by the states. One more account! One more thing to keep track of! One more pile of paperwork! But it will have your name on it! And you will choose to save! Or not save! Very Important! And it will be an account! With your name on it!
What's left largely unsaid is that the current system has failed, and the exciting plan to "fix" the failed system is run the same experiment, with minor tweaks, over for another 40 years and see how that works. Of course if you just grab your trusty envelope back and do The Math, the pittance people will save in these exciting new plans will be just that, a pittance.
Their very own retirement accounts! A ONE THOUSAND DOLLAR MATCH requiring yet another line on the damn tax form, another bunch of paperwork to keep track of. Invest in GM stock now, in about 40 years those Cadillacs are going to be zooming out of the showroom, especially the self-driving ones. 20somethings will retire rich!
As for people near retirement now. Well, they fucked up. They trusted us!
1) Expanding Social Security is unpossible and/or undesirable. As for the former, things in politics are unpossible until they aren't. And as for undesirable, the reasons were quite clear: ????? .
2) Even for people who weren't trying to (or in the wake of Bush's failure, didn't want to be seen as trying to) privatize Social Security, there was an obsession with people have a savings account that required some sort of personal responsibility. As in, you needed an account with your name on it and you needed to choose to put some money in it. Well, ok, that wasn't working, so we'll give you the option to opt out but you still have to choose not to opt out.
3) Since 401Ks had failed to provide for retirement, privatization wasn't (this week) going to happen, and Social Security expansion was unpossible and/or undesirable because ?????? what would be great is yet another exciting new program run by the states. One more account! One more thing to keep track of! One more pile of paperwork! But it will have your name on it! And you will choose to save! Or not save! Very Important! And it will be an account! With your name on it!
What's left largely unsaid is that the current system has failed, and the exciting plan to "fix" the failed system is run the same experiment, with minor tweaks, over for another 40 years and see how that works. Of course if you just grab your trusty envelope back and do The Math, the pittance people will save in these exciting new plans will be just that, a pittance.
Another benefit of the state-sponsored plans will be to allow more workers to benefit from the Saver’s Credit, a federal tax credit that goes to low- and moderate-income Americans who contribute to a retirement account. Under this credit, savers are eligible to receive up to $1,000 in what’s essentially a savings match. The National Institute on Retirement Security and the Aspen Institute estimates that nearly five million people living in the Secure Choice states could become eligible for the credit as a result of being enrolled in their state’s new plan. And if Congress ever decides to make the Saver’s Credit refundable, a move many policy experts and advocates endorse, the credit’s reach – and boost to savings – would be even larger.
...
The success of these efforts carries a potential dual prize: the ability of millions of hard-working Americans to save in their own retirement accounts for the very first time, and a potentially valuable model for how government can help solve the retirement crisis.
Their very own retirement accounts! A ONE THOUSAND DOLLAR MATCH requiring yet another line on the damn tax form, another bunch of paperwork to keep track of. Invest in GM stock now, in about 40 years those Cadillacs are going to be zooming out of the showroom, especially the self-driving ones. 20somethings will retire rich!
As for people near retirement now. Well, they fucked up. They trusted us!
The Real Story
No media figure did more to help Donald out during the primary than Morning Joseph did. He basically handed his show over to Trump. Such gratitude.
Anyone seen Chris Christie lately?
Some day, when things calm down, I'll tell the real story of @JoeNBC and his very insecure long-time girlfriend, @morningmika. Two clowns!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2016
Anyone seen Chris Christie lately?
Sunday, August 21, 2016
Borrow Everything You Can
In the late 80s-90s, the advice given to people going to college was to borrow every cent you were approved for. They were low interest loans and, you know, they were student loans! They were like nice loans with nice lenders. Practically free money!
Thanks for the advice, Old Economy Steves.
Thanks for the advice, Old Economy Steves.
Maybe They Know Him
One amusing thing about this election is the consistent and unrelenting contempt the NY Daily News has had for Trump. All the way back to the beginning...
Morning Thready Goodness
Annie Laurie, at Balloon Juice, has a longish post up about the rise and demise of machine politics. Interesting. It all started with getting safe drinking water to NYC.
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Shit Is Fucked Up And Bullshit
Speaking of Whack-a-Mole.
...that's a few months old, but still fucked up and bullshit.
Here’s what the U.S. government says about the student loan you may have been tardy about paying back: “If your loan is placed with a collection agency, you will be responsible for costs incurred to get payment. The holder of your loan can take other actions to collect as well.” Those “other actions” involve withholding your tax refund or, in some cases, garnishing your wages. And, this week in Texas, they began to involve federal agents in combat gear bursting into debtors’ houses and arresting them.
...that's a few months old, but still fucked up and bullshit.
Master Persuader Filter
Weird to discover that the Dilbert guy is (among other things) what the Dilbert comic was making fun of all along...
Their World
Reading various comments by Trump and his surrogates/supporteres it's like they think all black people live under bridges with their crack dealers and are drawn out once every 4 years to vote by promises of Obamaphones. Explains a lot about why Obama himself makes them insane. It isn't just racism in the sense of hatred, though it's that too. It's like waking up every day and discovering that a unicorn is president. Does not compute.
Yah, African-Americans in this country live with and near poverty disproportionately, but poverty doesn't mean "homeless" (not only, anyway). Poor people - poor whites, too! - have lives. They're just tougher, and increasingly modern life is a bit more like a game of whack-a-mole where you're the mole. People don't just fall through our almost non-existent safety net, they get whacked right through it. So,yeah, being poor sucks, it just isn't what the Trumpians imagine it is, either urban or rural poverty. Not all black people are poor and not all poverty is a cross between what you see in The Wire and 70s post-apocalypatic urban hellscape movies.
Yah, African-Americans in this country live with and near poverty disproportionately, but poverty doesn't mean "homeless" (not only, anyway). Poor people - poor whites, too! - have lives. They're just tougher, and increasingly modern life is a bit more like a game of whack-a-mole where you're the mole. People don't just fall through our almost non-existent safety net, they get whacked right through it. So,yeah, being poor sucks, it just isn't what the Trumpians imagine it is, either urban or rural poverty. Not all black people are poor and not all poverty is a cross between what you see in The Wire and 70s post-apocalypatic urban hellscape movies.
Friday, August 19, 2016
Don't you think she looks tired?
Absent imminent death or curtailed brain function, it really doesn't matter that much whether presidential candidates have a long list of chronic illnesses. I'm 44 and I'm ready for a stool to sit on after about 15 minutes these days. I suppose the question of appropriate transparency is open to debate, but who cares? As far as I can tell, everyone over 50 in this country (or younger) has some sort of chronic something and is drugged to the gills because of it. I'm somewhat kidding, and not at all knocking people who have medical conditions. The opposite, in fact! I'm trying to point out that it's pretty normal, if not quite universal.
Kinda funny that it's about all they've got.
Kinda funny that it's about all they've got.
What About Self-Flying Cars?
I admit I post about self-driving cars in part to troll my own blog. For some reason it's a subject that pisses people off (Just a few, but I find it funny that it pisses people off. Who cares if I'm wrong? Get mad when I advocate banning them, I guess).
I actually do think they'll probably be a Bad Thing (not for all people or applications of course) if they do work, but I don't spend much time worrying about that because I don't think they'll work. They are already being used as an excuse to halt investment in other transit modes, and starting to be used an excuse to get public money. That annoys me. But otherwise, it's just talk for me. Gotta talk about something.
I actually do think they'll probably be a Bad Thing (not for all people or applications of course) if they do work, but I don't spend much time worrying about that because I don't think they'll work. They are already being used as an excuse to halt investment in other transit modes, and starting to be used an excuse to get public money. That annoys me. But otherwise, it's just talk for me. Gotta talk about something.
Freak Show
I just can't get too interested in the day to day campaign machinations - who is in, who is out - that the press obsess about. I'm not saying there's no story there, and I get that with the Trump campaign there are a few extra wrinkles that make it even more of a story, but overall the obsessive coverage is just part of the gossip-and-theater-criticism coverage of politics. Who is up, who is down, who the personalities are. I'm not immune to the appeal of celebrity gossip news, but I'd like to think this electing a president stuff is a bit more important than that. We aren't choosing between casts for the next Real World taping.
Cruel Indifference
No "we" don't actually care about the health and lives of pregnant women.
WASHINGTON ― Texas experienced a sudden and dramatic spike in pregnancy-related deaths in 2011, the same year the state slashed funding for Planned Parenthood and women’s health programs, according to a study in the September issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
After a modest increase in maternal mortality in Texas between 2000 and 2010, the rate of pregnancy-related deaths nearly doubled in 2011 and 2012 ― something researchers described as “puzzling” and out of sync with data from the other 49 states. Seventy-two women in Texas died from complications of pregnancy and childbirth in 2010, and that number jumped to 148 in 2012.
Thursday, August 18, 2016
Fair and Balanced
Based on the title that links to it, How John McLaughlin Made Political TV that Really Was Fair and Balanced, I was prepared to be annoyed by this. But this bit is exactly right:
And McLaughlin's show was often more genuinely "fair and balanced" than most, where often those "center-left" journalists are replaced by one "mainstream" journalist.
If it's Sunday, it's conservative.
The show had been on for only a couple of years when I first arrived in Washington, and among the young liberals I knew it was widely loathed, though universally watched. The lineup of regular panelists–Pat Buchanan, Robert Novak, Jack Germond, plus Mort Kondracke or Eleanor Clift—was supposedly balanced. But in fact it pitting three hard right ideologues (including McLaughlin himself) against two center-left journalists, so the left side of the panel always seemed defensive and outmatched—which is exactly how it felt to be on the left in Washington during the Reagan years. Roger Ailes, the Fox News president recently ousted on charges of sexual harassment, is widely credited as a genius for creating the “fair and balanced” cable network, but it was McLaughlin who first figured out the winning formula.
And McLaughlin's show was often more genuinely "fair and balanced" than most, where often those "center-left" journalists are replaced by one "mainstream" journalist.
If it's Sunday, it's conservative.
Sorry, I Was Totes Wrong
Never listen to Atrios.
Well, that was a lot faster than even boosters expected. Silly me. I should just shutter this blog.
Wait, you say what?
Kudos to the PR people, but I do not think the reporter understands the meaning of "self-driving."
Uber’s First Self-Driving Fleet Arrives in Pittsburgh This Month
Well, that was a lot faster than even boosters expected. Silly me. I should just shutter this blog.
Wait, you say what?
The autonomous cars, launching this summer, are custom Volvo XC90s, supervised by humans in the driver’s seat.
Kudos to the PR people, but I do not think the reporter understands the meaning of "self-driving."
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Never Go The Full Trump
Apparently the seat of power of the Republican party has moved from Fox/Limbaugh to Breitbart.
I do miss the Republican party of that nice Jeff Sessions.
Joking aside, that's what all this is about. They (meaning, the non-Trump GOP power folks) don't really even care if they lose, they care that they aren't in charge anymore (or don't feel like they're in charge).
I do miss the Republican party of that nice Jeff Sessions.
Joking aside, that's what all this is about. They (meaning, the non-Trump GOP power folks) don't really even care if they lose, they care that they aren't in charge anymore (or don't feel like they're in charge).
The Tough Life
Maybe, unlike Old Economy Steve, the Kids Today just have it too soft. But if your memories of your harsh youth involve occasionally helping pop change the oil (this is, actually, an occasional task), or transporting a bit of wood (did no one think to buy a wheelbarrow? sad!), then I do not think these brief disruptions to your Dungeon Mastering were really that big of a deal. Or, perhaps they were to 15-year-old you, which is really the point.
As for the why The Kids Today are how they are? Soft nerds and geeks being popular? Glee. Fuck you, Glee.
As for the why The Kids Today are how they are? Soft nerds and geeks being popular? Glee. Fuck you, Glee.
And There It Is
They still won't work, but we'll have fun spending lots of tax money on them before we figure that out (yes I think if you could build a city from the ground up or retrofit an entire street grid to accommodate them then they would "work" in some sense, but that's like saying we could run trains down the street if only someone puts in some wires and track first...).
Nobody tell them that dirt roads are the next big thing.
The first deployments, he said, will be in crowded urban areas and require partnerships with government leaders on regulations and infrastructure needed to support driverless cars. For instance, right now such experimental vehicles need clear lane markings to operate.
Nobody tell them that dirt roads are the next big thing.
On America's Tombstone
An appropriate quote:
Spoiler: The roads aren't functioning.
“Smaller government is better, but we still want our roads to function,” he said.
Spoiler: The roads aren't functioning.
Morning and Stuff
I agree with Atrios about avoiding flying, but damnit, there's just no other way to get from here to most places. So flying it is.
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
The Kids Today
My cohort were Reagan fans (too young to vote for him) who listened to Limbaugh while in college. I was a big wussy nerd for being a Democrat. Conservatives and conservatism were cool. Alex P. Keaton was the hero of that show, not the anti-hero.
Maybe give them some of the free stuff that Old Economy Steve got, and they'll stick around for a bit.
Maybe give them some of the free stuff that Old Economy Steve got, and they'll stick around for a bit.
Because Land Is Free
I doubt that diagnosis - that people won't pay to park - is wrong, but it is amusing how many people see free car storage as a right.
Of course this thing will be a disaster, though if a nominal parking fee is what puts the final nail in...
"If they charged to park, the place would be empty," he said. "If you're going to pay to park to shop, you better give them a glass of champagne on the way in."
And speaking of parking lots, that's what the roads in that part of Bergen County resemble during rush hour, he said.
The American Dream people are betting that mall-goers will put up with the traffic because of the unique nature of this mall, which will be 60 percent entertainment and amusement and just 40 percent retail, according to Patire.
Of course this thing will be a disaster, though if a nominal parking fee is what puts the final nail in...
Both Sides
Yes, the right wing has gone after the legitimacy of the mainstream press for years. No I don't agree that the political press has a liberal bias if by "liberal bias" you mean in any consistent way furthering some sort of liberal agenda. Sure I buy that in general reporters are a bit more liberal than average on some issues (mostly not on economic or foreign policy issues) in the abstract, but that rarely manifests itself in concrete ways, and for mysterious reasons many of the most prominent mainstream media voices aren't liberal at all. Even on the issues that the press tends to be "liberal" about, they tend not to be all that interested in government solutions to those issues, so it's a largely ineffective liberalism. It's a bit like academia in that way.
The maddening thing was that when The Left started our little grassroots media criticism endeavor, members of the press loved to perceive criticism as just two sides of the same coin. Both Sides were just working the refs, and if you were pissing Both Sides off then you must be doing something right! But liberal media criticism really never was that way (I think there's a bit more of that than there used to be), simply press criticism as one more political tool. We didn't want to de-legitimize the press, we wanted it to be better. And, yes, we wanted them to stop listening to bullshit rightwing criticisms and chasing every Democratic scandal/slanting every story in order to please Limbaugh listeners. Given the decades of much more effective right wing criticism of the press, along with certain management pressures, even Both Sides has never been Both Sides. It's at best Both Sides most of the time. You know, when Bush was in power Republicans needed to get their voices out because they were in charge. Then it was only fair to give the opposition more time. That's how Both Sides has operated, in a strangely one-sided fashion.
As we tried to tell them, The Right will hate you no matter what you do or how many of them get columns and teevee shows and permanent offices at Meet the Press. And here we are.
The maddening thing was that when The Left started our little grassroots media criticism endeavor, members of the press loved to perceive criticism as just two sides of the same coin. Both Sides were just working the refs, and if you were pissing Both Sides off then you must be doing something right! But liberal media criticism really never was that way (I think there's a bit more of that than there used to be), simply press criticism as one more political tool. We didn't want to de-legitimize the press, we wanted it to be better. And, yes, we wanted them to stop listening to bullshit rightwing criticisms and chasing every Democratic scandal/slanting every story in order to please Limbaugh listeners. Given the decades of much more effective right wing criticism of the press, along with certain management pressures, even Both Sides has never been Both Sides. It's at best Both Sides most of the time. You know, when Bush was in power Republicans needed to get their voices out because they were in charge. Then it was only fair to give the opposition more time. That's how Both Sides has operated, in a strangely one-sided fashion.
As we tried to tell them, The Right will hate you no matter what you do or how many of them get columns and teevee shows and permanent offices at Meet the Press. And here we are.
The Maths
Uber is lobbying local governments to subsidize them to handle the "last mile" from rail stations and similar.
I suspect this will not end well for a variety of possible reasons, but we will see...
I suspect this will not end well for a variety of possible reasons, but we will see...
Morning Thread
The Halifax Examiner has a story up about a group that calls themselves Creep Catchers. I'm trying to figure out who is scarier, the Creep Catchers or the creeps they catch.
Monday, August 15, 2016
Palin Say Anything Today?
Every now and then I'm reminded of that two year or so period during which every utterance (facebook, tweet, whatever) by Sarah Palin was THE TOP POLITICAL NEWS MUST CREDIT POLITICO. We'd just elected the first African-American president. The economy was in meltdown. The Democrats controlled Congress. Who was important? Sarah Palin.
Complete mystery why Donald Trump managed to get so far.
Complete mystery why Donald Trump managed to get so far.
A Noun, A Verb, 9/11 Happened on a NASA Soundstage
Think Rudy needs a nap (click here for the video).
Video of Rudy saying we didn't "have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attacks in the U.S." before Obama: pic.twitter.com/3tC1InfZj0
— andrew kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) August 15, 2016
It's About Hating Liberals
Hey, somebody else noticed.
In a way Democrats have understood this over the years, but in a way they haven't. Most of them got pretty good at doing the "I'm not like those OTHER liberals, in fact not a liberal at all..." schtick which is about showing tribal allegiance to hating liberals, not about any actual policy (aside from some proof you're willing to STICK IT TO THE LIBERALS stuff like anti-flag burning laws, but those types of things were more about proving your tribal affiliation than they were about the actual policy). That was sometimes good enough for a Senate candidate to trip over the 50% line in a red state and win an election, though since liberals=Democrats to the people they were trying to cater to, the fact that half the Democratic party was always running against the Democratic party didn't do much for brand D generally.
But the part they missed was that some liberal policies would actually be pretty popular. For example, the fact that older people vote leads to some rather obvious liberal policies to support, especially in states with lots of older people. Even George Bush was smart enough to support a Medicare expansion. If they could have wedded popular liberal policies with the "I hate liberals, too" schtick, then they might have had a winning formula, at least individually. Instead it too often just had them run up against the basic "give the people a choice between a Republican and a Republican..." problem.
Hatred of liberals is glue that holds the right together. Not liberalism. It's OK to hold liberal views if prefaced by hatred of liberals.
— Bruce Bartlett (@BruceBartlett) August 14, 2016
In a way Democrats have understood this over the years, but in a way they haven't. Most of them got pretty good at doing the "I'm not like those OTHER liberals, in fact not a liberal at all..." schtick which is about showing tribal allegiance to hating liberals, not about any actual policy (aside from some proof you're willing to STICK IT TO THE LIBERALS stuff like anti-flag burning laws, but those types of things were more about proving your tribal affiliation than they were about the actual policy). That was sometimes good enough for a Senate candidate to trip over the 50% line in a red state and win an election, though since liberals=Democrats to the people they were trying to cater to, the fact that half the Democratic party was always running against the Democratic party didn't do much for brand D generally.
But the part they missed was that some liberal policies would actually be pretty popular. For example, the fact that older people vote leads to some rather obvious liberal policies to support, especially in states with lots of older people. Even George Bush was smart enough to support a Medicare expansion. If they could have wedded popular liberal policies with the "I hate liberals, too" schtick, then they might have had a winning formula, at least individually. Instead it too often just had them run up against the basic "give the people a choice between a Republican and a Republican..." problem.
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Yuge
I keep saying The Donald could win. He still could! Though that window is closing. Really all he had to do was talk like an asshole with a clue instead of an asshole without one. Eventually even people who are inclined to support asshole conservatism can sense when a guy is just bullshitting and has no idea what he's talking about. The London Underground is not a political movement, Otto.
A Plan To Win Elections
The anti-Corbyn Labour faction certainly has one, unlike Corbyn.
But it will likely deprive Labour’s Corbynsceptics of the myth that has now become mainstream: that Corbyn’s victory was the result of “other people”, that his opponents lost because of the Greens, etc. My guess, if the freeze date had been overturned, his opponents would have returned to that idea, no matter how big or how small the margin of victory. That might mean a change of approach for the Corbynsceptics after he wins. Currently ascendant is what one politician described as the "we have to call him a c**t every day until he f****s off" school of thought. Some are already planning for another challenge early in the New Year.
Saturday, August 13, 2016
Silly Digby
After 9/11 we invaded Iraq because Saddam Hussein did 9/11. Obama invaded Afghanistan because they weren't giving enough free abortions.
They're Gonna Let The Blah People Vote
I'm not entirely sure why Philly has become the central location for scandalous stories about black people being allowed to vote legally, but every election there seems to be some story that bubbles up (through Drudge) about a broken voting machine, or a mean sign, or scary black people standing outside of a polling place, or precincts with zero Republican votes (in a highly African-American pretty segregated city where even most of the white people vote for Democrats). Trump is telling people from the 'T' (aka Pennsyltucky) that not only are black people going to vote - a scandal in and of itself - but they're going to vote several times because that's how things work. Not just a secret welfare system but a secret voting system, too!
(Not the central issue, but every four years Republicans and the media make a big deal about how PA is a critical swing state which could go Republican, and then it doesn't. Sure Republicans can win PA, but it'd be a national landslide if they do so PA wouldn't matter much. I's a reliable, if fairly close, Democratic state in presidential elections...)
The good news is those people are deathly afraid of Philly. The bad news is it only takes one nutcase with a gun.
It'd be pretty hard to pull off that kind of voter fraud in Philly. Sure other kinds of fraud would be possible, but the "people voting multiple times" type is really the stupidest possible way to try to get some extra votes.
...in case you didn't read to the end:
It's how the rest of the state (even Pittsburgh, to some degree) see Philadelphia. It'd be funny if they didn't control the state legislature and many public agencies in Philly (the state regularly makes special rules for Philly because the city can't be trusted to govern itself, as is regularly proven by the horrible state-run agencies that run parts of the government...)
He argued that he has strong momentum in the state and that, "the only way we can lose, in my opinion, I really mean this, Pennsylvania, is if cheating goes on."
Trump said: "We're going to watch Pennsylvania. Go down to certain areas and watch and study make sure other people don't come in and vote five times."
(Not the central issue, but every four years Republicans and the media make a big deal about how PA is a critical swing state which could go Republican, and then it doesn't. Sure Republicans can win PA, but it'd be a national landslide if they do so PA wouldn't matter much. I's a reliable, if fairly close, Democratic state in presidential elections...)
The good news is those people are deathly afraid of Philly. The bad news is it only takes one nutcase with a gun.
It'd be pretty hard to pull off that kind of voter fraud in Philly. Sure other kinds of fraud would be possible, but the "people voting multiple times" type is really the stupidest possible way to try to get some extra votes.
...in case you didn't read to the end:
"The people in western and central Pennsylvania have to overcome what goes on down in Philadelphia," said Shuster. "The cheating, what they do -- we've got to make sure we're doing the job here in central Pennsylvania."
It's how the rest of the state (even Pittsburgh, to some degree) see Philadelphia. It'd be funny if they didn't control the state legislature and many public agencies in Philly (the state regularly makes special rules for Philly because the city can't be trusted to govern itself, as is regularly proven by the horrible state-run agencies that run parts of the government...)
Friday, August 12, 2016
5 Billion Here, 5 Billion There...
The rail tunnel Christie cancelled, which probably would have done some good for New Jersey (especially relative to the current tunnels collapsing scenario), would've cost 2-3X more.
Yes this is an apples to oranges comparison, but it does show us that nice things usually aren't nearly as expensive as people want to believe. We'll always have the megamall. Well, if it opens. And maybe for 30 years or so after that.
When, or if, American Dream Meadowlands opens, it will likely have cost upwards of $5 billion, split over three developers and more than a dozen years of stop-and-start work.
"I think that makes it the most expensive retail project on earth," Don Ghermezian, a principal in the Triple Five Group, which is developing the megamall, told the New York Times.
Yes this is an apples to oranges comparison, but it does show us that nice things usually aren't nearly as expensive as people want to believe. We'll always have the megamall. Well, if it opens. And maybe for 30 years or so after that.
The Life of Trump
This isn't really a political question, but I'm curious if Trump ever sees the world other than from the perspective of home-limo-destination-limo-home. He lives in New York, but is New York anything but a collection of fancy buildings that he visits sometimes? And when he travels? Is it anything more than airport-limo-Trump branded golf course-limo-hotel?
I don't expect rich guys to spend a lot of time among the great unwashed, but how many of them really only do the resort-private jet-resort kind of travel which mirrors their basic daily existence at home. Then really what's the point?
I don't expect rich guys to spend a lot of time among the great unwashed, but how many of them really only do the resort-private jet-resort kind of travel which mirrors their basic daily existence at home. Then really what's the point?
Make The Stupid Stop
I think the Denver DNC in '08 was pretty soon after Matthew Dowd had his new career mapped out conversion into a person who maybe didn't love the guy he got re-elected amidst all of those purple band-aids in 2004 as much as he claimed when he spent all of that money to convince us we should love him. Way too many people around me were very very impressed indeed that in the waning days of the Bush administration, with the writing on the wall already about Miserable Failure's legacy, that the heroic Mr. Dowd would time his public conversion for maximum media attention have this sudden crisis of conscience.
Savvy about some things, but like so many of our elite scribes, a really silly person. It's all about tone, people. Iraqis? bygones.
Savvy about some things, but like so many of our elite scribes, a really silly person. It's all about tone, people. Iraqis? bygones.
Thursday, August 11, 2016
And Simels Went to School With Them
Wonder if they're bored yet.
Greenland sharks are now the longest-living vertebrates known on Earth, scientists say.
Researchers used radiocarbon dating to determine the ages of 28 of the animals, and estimated that one female was about 400 years old.
The team found that the sharks grow at just 1cm a year, and reach sexual maturity at about the age of 150.
Thanks, Andy
And before Betsy McCaughey did her best to torpedo Obamacare, she wrote the infamous bullshit article for TNR which helped to torpedo Hillarycare.
Weird life's mission. Hope she's compensated.
Weird life's mission. Hope she's compensated.
Totebaggers
I'll even not mention the administration re-election campaign he used to work for and the fun things that president used to do, but I do find it hilarious (also, scary, democracy doomed, etc.) that our great opinion leaders are about as silly as very silly 15-year-olds, or our silliest drive-by commentators who email me to tell me all about how your groupthinking is censoring their wisdom. They, you see, are independent-minded and have access to clear unsullied analysis of issues which will lead them to enlightened truth, such as the truth of needing to kill a bunch of innocent Iraqis (oops! I said I wouldn't mention that). You on the other hand are BLIND PARTISANS whose BLIND PARTISANSHIP has led you to the CRAZY IDEA that generally one party fits your policy preferences a bit more than the other and that putting them in power is, in the net, a good idea. BLIND PARTISAN.
One side is too warm, one side is too hot, and those stuck in the middle with Matthew are just right. It's a lonely dangerous place. Both Sides are constantly attacking it, trying to tear down his Castle of Independence. Matthew will be strong, without his comforting blanket. It's just him and his beautiful mind.
It must be a comforting blanket for partisans to look at everything as black and white. Makes it easier to react quickly without thinking.
— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) August 11, 2016
One side is too warm, one side is too hot, and those stuck in the middle with Matthew are just right. It's a lonely dangerous place. Both Sides are constantly attacking it, trying to tear down his Castle of Independence. Matthew will be strong, without his comforting blanket. It's just him and his beautiful mind.
Everybody Loves Henry
I'm not always thrilled about various efforts at broadening the coalition - voters or elite - by reaching out to Republicans, though I get the utility, but what advantages are there to publicly embracing Henry Kissinger and Negroponte? Is there a single voter out there who ponders to her/himself, "Well, I was on the fence a bit, but now that those brutal amoral assholes Kissinger and Negroponte are on board, I trust that Clinton will support enough political violence to make me happy?" Well, I'm sure there are a few, but they all write for the Washington Post op-ed pages.
DC's a complicated place and I get that strange alliances are formed, but those don't require wearing your giant sized "Henry Approved!" button.
This is the moment when someone says, "It doesn't matter. All that matters right now is beating Trump." Okay, fine, and this helps elect Clinton... how? I guess if I fail to mention it then it didn't happen. Blue Nation Review is a lovely happy place.
DC's a complicated place and I get that strange alliances are formed, but those don't require wearing your giant sized "Henry Approved!" button.
This is the moment when someone says, "It doesn't matter. All that matters right now is beating Trump." Okay, fine, and this helps elect Clinton... how? I guess if I fail to mention it then it didn't happen. Blue Nation Review is a lovely happy place.
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
The American Dream
The proliferation of creative public financing for a New Jersey megamall that will likely make its developers rich and then never open is a pretty good metaphor for the actual current American Dream. I couldn't even unpack the various aspects of the financing, which seem to involve some creative money laundering scheme to pass it all through to Wisconsin's public finance agency because of course. But, for those keeping score at home...
Just another few Friedmans away...
(ht reader am)
Work has stalled in the Meadowlands since a delay in financing in April. Armlin said workers have done prefabrication work off-site in the meantime. There's still plenty to do, including the construction of a 15-care amusement and water park.
After the delay in financing, Armlin said he now expects American Dream to open in late summer 2018.
Just another few Friedmans away...
(ht reader am)
Maybe Don't Call It Autopilot?
I'm actually not all that much interested in the safety issues of self-driving cars. It's in a way the easiest part, though really just a subset of the "these things won't work" issue. If self-driving cars really work as promised, they'll be pretty safe. Until then, they won't be both safe and useful. They're sort of one and the same. The focus on safety is going to obscure the more general issue. Won't be safe until they work, and they won't work so they won't be safe.
And every time a crash happens,cultists advocates will come forward to tell us that they're safer than regular cars and besides that the crash was really the driver's fault because autopilot doesn't really mean autopilot so the driver has to know when to pay attention. Maybe all true! Also, misses the point.
If the driver has to pay attention it isn't a self-driving car. And the self-driving cars are never going to happen (in my lifetime, yes, yes, one day our descendants might upload their brains into self-driving car bodies). Things which are a bit more self-driving but are really just cruise control plus will become more widespread and the technology will improve. They still won't be self-driving cars. They'll both be the greatest thing ever and anyone who actually uses them as advertised (implied, at least) will be mocked for daring to do what the technology supposedly promised (of course the car crashed! the driver wasn't paying attention! it's the driver's fault).
The technology will never fail, it can only be failed. Maybe you'll like your new toys, but they won't be self-driving cars.
And every time a crash happens,
If the driver has to pay attention it isn't a self-driving car. And the self-driving cars are never going to happen (in my lifetime, yes, yes, one day our descendants might upload their brains into self-driving car bodies). Things which are a bit more self-driving but are really just cruise control plus will become more widespread and the technology will improve. They still won't be self-driving cars. They'll both be the greatest thing ever and anyone who actually uses them as advertised (implied, at least) will be mocked for daring to do what the technology supposedly promised (of course the car crashed! the driver wasn't paying attention! it's the driver's fault).
The technology will never fail, it can only be failed. Maybe you'll like your new toys, but they won't be self-driving cars.
And The Actor Who Played Me In The West Wing Was Uncredited
Zachary Quinto plays Glenn Greenwald in the forthcoming Oliver Stone movie.
Tuesday, August 09, 2016
Hard to Put The Cork Back In
I don't have the exact quote, but apparently the Donald just suggested the use of guns could be an appropriate solution to political "problems" (scare quotes, not actual quote), referencing the 2nd amendment.
The 2nd amendment as a political tool and the "right to revolution" as one of the rights enumerated in the constitution are standard gun nut fare, something even supposedly respectable conservative constitutional scholars flirt with. Usually doesn't come from the presidential candidate of one of the two main political parties.
...I think this is the quote:
The 2nd amendment as a political tool and the "right to revolution" as one of the rights enumerated in the constitution are standard gun nut fare, something even supposedly respectable conservative constitutional scholars flirt with. Usually doesn't come from the presidential candidate of one of the two main political parties.
...I think this is the quote:
Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish the Second Amendment. By the way, and if she gets to pick — if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know.
Trots
Who knew they had such power?
The anti-Corbyn Labour faction has become so absurd and will likely destroy the party completely. Whatever one thinks of Corbyn, they're about 10X more counterproductive and ridiculous. They really must be the boys that Cameron's crew gave wedgies to back in the day.
Scotland won't vote for them anymore. Once they make sure The Left won't either... victory!!!
I blame the Trots.
The anti-Corbyn Labour faction has become so absurd and will likely destroy the party completely. Whatever one thinks of Corbyn, they're about 10X more counterproductive and ridiculous. They really must be the boys that Cameron's crew gave wedgies to back in the day.
Scotland won't vote for them anymore. Once they make sure The Left won't either... victory!!!
I blame the Trots.
We Know You Like to Park
So we'll use any means necessary to put a parking lot in your parking lot.
So many things done under the umbrella of "urban renewal" were horribly destructive. Destroying anything worth visiting on the off chance that people would drive in for the joy of parking was one of them.
So many things done under the umbrella of "urban renewal" were horribly destructive. Destroying anything worth visiting on the off chance that people would drive in for the joy of parking was one of them.
Shit Is Still Fucked Up And Bullshit
I don't go to DC much anymore. Actually I haven't been for years. For awhile I went fairly regularly for various reasons, including occasionally meeting with people who have a wee bit more power than I'll ever have. I spent some time scheming with one congressional office in particular (whether they valued my input or were just humoring me, they were serious about the issue) about how to keep people who were getting screwed in their homes. It was depressing. This office gave a shit, but nobody (exaggeration, of course) else did, and they couldn't get anything past administration attempts to block anything, or at least let things wither on the vine. One can always argue that legislative fixes just couldn't get the votes, but legislative fixes were necessary only because the administration was sitting on a giant pile of cash (went largely unspent) they had discretion over and plenty of regulatory power they could apply and they weren't doing anything.
If stealing homes is basically legal and profitable, people (and companies) will steal homes. That no one could see the importance of this, even without shedding tears for the l000zers who had their homes stolen, was hard to comprehend.
If stealing homes is basically legal and profitable, people (and companies) will steal homes. That no one could see the importance of this, even without shedding tears for the l000zers who had their homes stolen, was hard to comprehend.
Why Not?
Schilling/Baio 2020!
Definitely a Trump Conservative.
Well, if Donald Trump can run for president, why can't Curt Schilling?
The outspoken former Phillies and Red Sox pitcher, while sparring with commenters on his Facebook page Sunday, wrote that he has set his sights on the Oval Office.
Definitely a Trump Conservative.
Despite keeping an uncharacteristically low media profile of late, Schilling has agreed to meet with me. So while the players wait for their next game of the tournament, the former pitcher takes a seat in a lawn chair and performs what winds up being an emotional, two-hour-long autopsy of 38 Studios. The company’s death was grisly: Before going under, it defaulted on the $75 million guaranteed loan that the state of Rhode Island had used in 2010 to lure it to Providence. As the money ran out, the company encouraged its 379 employees to continue coming into work, even though it knew it could not pay them. Staffers realized they’d been stiffed only when they noticed the money missing from their bank accounts. A pregnant woman had to find out from her doctor that her healthcare benefits had been cut off.
Add it all up, including interest, and already-cash-strapped Rhode Island could be out as much as $110 million on the loans. As Schilling sits beside the softball diamond, his company, with nearly $151 million in debt and just $22 million in assets, is being liquidated through Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Monday, August 08, 2016
Henry K.
Just the distinguished elder statesman one should have the counsel and support of.
The Obama administration on Monday declassified more than 1,000 pages of documents about Argentina’s seven-year “Dirty War” during which a military dictatorship killed thousands of people.
...
During a visit to Buenos Aires in March, Obama bemoaned the slowness of the U.S. to condemn the crackdown in Argentina. Leaders in Washington such as Secretary of State Henry Kissinger originally supported the junta’s efforts and appeared to encourage it to act quickly so as not to suffer a blowback from Congress.
"The quicker you succeed the better," Kissinger told Argentina's foreign minister in 1976, shortly after the coup took place.
Can't Find Their Asses
Unsurprisingly, the Corbyn opposition lost their attempt to say "never mind you can't vote" to lots of people who were promised a vote in the leadership election if they joined. All of the Very Serious People say that this group which has done nothing but ensure Tories don't get any bad press and to piss off everyone who might vote for them are the ones who can win elections. They can't even tie their shoes.
He Can Win
No, he isn't likely to. I certainly wouldn't make a 1:1 bet on it. My prediction is that the results look pretty similar to 2008, both in terms of popular vote shares and electoral college votes. If that happens, it means that 46.2% of your fellow citizens who voted will have voted for Trump, and he doesn't even have a tire swing.
I Hope Someone Prepared Them
That was one of my thoughts when Khan gave his speech at the DNC. We have many examples of otherwise non-public figures temporarily entering the public stage and inviting the full flying monkey attack. People who don't dwell among the rabid lambs of the internet and talk radio might not be aware of what it can and does release sometimes. I do hope someone in the Clinton/DNC teams sat them down and informed them what they were getting into. I also hope there's a willingness to provide financial and legal support if necessary.
Doped
Kinda sucks being an Olympic athlete and doing "too well" making people suspicious.
Could be the all drugs Olympics for Hosszu (and others) for all I know, but if there isn't any evidence then that kind of whisper campaign is a good way to ruin enthusiasm for these things.
Could be the all drugs Olympics for Hosszu (and others) for all I know, but if there isn't any evidence then that kind of whisper campaign is a good way to ruin enthusiasm for these things.
Sunday, August 07, 2016
Today is Sunday!!!
Lazy blogging day. Going to go out and enjoy the urban hellhole. Hopefully they have some funky cucumbers at the market!
Sunday Morning Thread
PowerPop has the trailer for the Florence Foster Jenkins movie starring Merryl Streep. Looks like a fun one.
Saturday, August 06, 2016
Everybody Hates Donald
Funny.
Don't remember seeing anything like this from Republicans. Used to Democrats distancing themselves because their candidate wasn't clear enough that he was actually a secret Republican, or maybe because he supposedly put the wrong cheese on his cheesesteak.
We get our entertainment where we can.
After a disastrous week of feuds and plummeting poll numbers, Republican leaders have concluded that Donald J. Trump is a threat to the party’s fortunes and have begun discussing how soon their endangered candidates should explicitly distance themselves from the presidential nominee.
For Republicans in close races, top strategists say, the issue is no longer in doubt. One House Republican has already started airing an ad vowing to stand up to Mr. Trump if he is elected president, and others are expected to press similar themes in the weeks ahead.
Don't remember seeing anything like this from Republicans. Used to Democrats distancing themselves because their candidate wasn't clear enough that he was actually a secret Republican, or maybe because he supposedly put the wrong cheese on his cheesesteak.
We get our entertainment where we can.
Strange Days
I admit I've lost the thread. For awhile we've had this basic framework in place. The Democrats were the high tax, big government, secret welfare system for the blahs, soft on crime, military hating, free love, hippie peacenik babykiller party. The Republicans were the small government, cut your taxes, love America and freedom and the flag, free market, family values, love Jesus, gay hating, tough love for the blahs, bomb all the scary furriners, death penalty for all criminals, save the babies from the babykillers party.
I'm not saying either of those narratives were quite true, but you could basically pluck out any random statement from any pundit about politicians/political parties and it would fit nicely into those boxes. And someone like me, who to some extent tried to correct those false narratives, had a basic framework to work against.
Now? Pundits still largely operate within those frames, but they're increasingly gibberish and unfamiliar to people. The parties, their voters, and certainly perceptions of those are changing, especially for younger people, and these days "younger people" seems to include anyone under 45 (just made it!).
I'm not saying either of those narratives were quite true, but you could basically pluck out any random statement from any pundit about politicians/political parties and it would fit nicely into those boxes. And someone like me, who to some extent tried to correct those false narratives, had a basic framework to work against.
Now? Pundits still largely operate within those frames, but they're increasingly gibberish and unfamiliar to people. The parties, their voters, and certainly perceptions of those are changing, especially for younger people, and these days "younger people" seems to include anyone under 45 (just made it!).
Friday, August 05, 2016
Then They'll Get Older, Have Kids, And Move To The Suburbs
That's the constant refrain from the local suburbanites every time there's some story about how some residents actually live in Philadephia without being court ordered to do so, or forced to by the local Sucky Blogger Dictator.
Probably some truth to it! People do change as they get older, and start having different priorities, but this misses the point that one reason more people like living in the urban hellhole more is that the urban hellhole is nicer than it used to be. At least, parts of it are. Some of the hipster yuppie trustifarian slacker food stamp receiving lazy desperate millennials might choose to stick around. Some will not! (I suspect the other thing this misses is that rentals and starter homes in the inner ring suburbs that are declining in number/increasing in price. Factor in cars, commute, and commute time, and that smaller place in the hellhole looks a bit better than that exurban mansion. The life they grew up with is expensive.)
Like The Kids Today in the urban hellhole, these voters will also grow up and have different priorities, though my vast lifelong experience tells me that their politics won't change all that much. My cohort was a big Republican cohort. Republicans were the cool guys back then, and the Democrats the dweebs. That cohort is still pretty Republican.
The Kids Today don't like the Donald. Future versions of those kids probably won't much like the 20 years from now version of Donald, though there's a good chance some of them will.
Probably some truth to it! People do change as they get older, and start having different priorities, but this misses the point that one reason more people like living in the urban hellhole more is that the urban hellhole is nicer than it used to be. At least, parts of it are. Some of the hipster yuppie trustifarian slacker food stamp receiving lazy desperate millennials might choose to stick around. Some will not! (I suspect the other thing this misses is that rentals and starter homes in the inner ring suburbs that are declining in number/increasing in price. Factor in cars, commute, and commute time, and that smaller place in the hellhole looks a bit better than that exurban mansion. The life they grew up with is expensive.)
Like The Kids Today in the urban hellhole, these voters will also grow up and have different priorities, though my vast lifelong experience tells me that their politics won't change all that much. My cohort was a big Republican cohort. Republicans were the cool guys back then, and the Democrats the dweebs. That cohort is still pretty Republican.
The Kids Today don't like the Donald. Future versions of those kids probably won't much like the 20 years from now version of Donald, though there's a good chance some of them will.
No Pivot Necessary
As I've said all along, Trump can win. That doesn't look likely today! Don't worry, the election is a long time away!
But if he loses it won't be because he's a racist asshole. That's why he'd win! He'll lose because he spouts enough nonsense that it becomes hard to ignore that he'd lose to Sarah Palin on Celebrity Jeopardy. Yes you can go far siding with the Orthogonians over the Franklins, but the Orthogonians don't think they're stupid, they just think they're really the smart ones. They're characters out of an Ayn Rand novel, the unappreciated geniuses. They don't want their leader to actually be an idiot.
But if he loses it won't be because he's a racist asshole. That's why he'd win! He'll lose because he spouts enough nonsense that it becomes hard to ignore that he'd lose to Sarah Palin on Celebrity Jeopardy. Yes you can go far siding with the Orthogonians over the Franklins, but the Orthogonians don't think they're stupid, they just think they're really the smart ones. They're characters out of an Ayn Rand novel, the unappreciated geniuses. They don't want their leader to actually be an idiot.
Tragedy Averted
Spilled almost an entire cup of coffee within inches of the laptop. But not on it.
Not sure if this is a good sign or a bad one.
Not sure if this is a good sign or a bad one.
Thursday, August 04, 2016
A Problem For Everyone
There's a Politico article detailing the high likelihood that Melania Trump had at least some minor immigration violations in the process of relocating here, and has been less than fully honest about her situation at all times. I don't much care about parsing the specifics because essentially everyone who has tried to move to the US has had immigration "problems" and sufficient enough violations that the right (or wrong) person in power could chuck you out if they chose to. Try getting a plane ticket/lodging/job start date/Visa all magically timed for the same date when at least one of those things (Visa) tends to appear when the little ball lands on the right number on the wheel.
Yes there's a valid "ooo big hypocrite Mr. anti-illegal mmigration orange man" angle, but I'd prefer the angle to just be "let's be realistic about what all immigrants go through." It's almost always complicated.
Yes there's a valid "ooo big hypocrite Mr. anti-illegal mmigration orange man" angle, but I'd prefer the angle to just be "let's be realistic about what all immigrants go through." It's almost always complicated.
He Won't Support The Good Stuff
I don't think I have to spend any time trying to convince people that even when The Donald says something fairly reasonable (it happens!) it doesn't mean a) he's someone a liberal should vote for or b) he actually cares about/will support any of those reasonable things.
I suppose there's some hope that if the Tea Party Trump fans hear something reasonable being supported by the Donald, instead of by the Kenyan Muslim Socialist, they'll decide they support it too, but that's pretty thin justification.
Safe to say anything that sounds good to libturds would be the lowest priority, and ultimately Donald's the Honey Badger. Donald don't care.
I suppose there's some hope that if the Tea Party Trump fans hear something reasonable being supported by the Donald, instead of by the Kenyan Muslim Socialist, they'll decide they support it too, but that's pretty thin justification.
Safe to say anything that sounds good to libturds would be the lowest priority, and ultimately Donald's the Honey Badger. Donald don't care.
Wednesday, August 03, 2016
Sad!
Whatever happens this election, Trump has a hell of a lot of supporters. Not just people who vote R no matter what, but actual supporters.
Fuck yeah.
Fuck yeah.
When Bombing Is Not Enough
These Very Serious People have determined that it isn't enough to bomb Syria. Why let a good opportunity go to waste? We have to find a way to bomb Syria that will piss off Russia as much as possible!
I wonder if Mr. Ross supported the Iraq war? Haha, no I don't, I remember. Better luck next time!
I wonder if Mr. Ross supported the Iraq war? Haha, no I don't, I remember. Better luck next time!
The Allies Are Near DC and East, West, South, and North Somewhat
Run, Donald, Run!
Every day can be a reset!
Key Republicans close to Donald Trump's orbit are plotting an intervention with the candidate after a disastrous 48 hours led some influential voices in the party to question whether Trump can stay at the top of the Republican ticket without catastrophic consequences for his campaign and the GOP at large.
Republican National Committee head Reince Priebus, former Republican New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich are among the Trump endorsers hoping to talk the real estate mogul into a dramatic reset of his campaign in the coming days, sources tell NBC News.
Every day can be a reset!
Skeered
Since I'm doing my best to find the things about this election that I can laugh at (as long as he loses it'll be hilarious from start to finish, of course), it's worth remembering how cowardly all of the clown car members were. I suppose you can at least give the Boy Blunder, Rubio, some credit for being a bit mean to the Donald back in the day. While all of those people have a lot more influence on the Washington Post editorial board than they do on people who actually elect them, they still have some influence. If they'd all come out swinging, consistently and semi-intelligently (the "semi" part is important here), they could've knee-capped the Donald's candidacy.
I guess the other thing is they listened to the pundits and didn't think he could win. Last person standing would be the one above the fray. Ooops.
I guess the other thing is they listened to the pundits and didn't think he could win. Last person standing would be the one above the fray. Ooops.
Tuesday, August 02, 2016
Can We Have The Other One Instead?
Pretty sure that if Moore had cancer (not wishing it on him), he'd think the cure for it was a bit more awesome than fracking. And, no, not all comparisons are equivalencies, but fracking's more like a cure for cancer that leaves you without a couple of limbs that the doctors then sell on the black market. Also, too, you still have cancer.
Has Anyone Here Ever Ridden A Train?
No? Okay, good, let's design a train station.
That must be what happened when they did the last redesign of Union Station. It isn't just the increase in ridership, either. The entrance gate waiting areas and the sometimes multiple ticket checks are pointless. If making sure people are getting on the right train is the point, have much better signage (this is a complaint that could be made of about every train station I've ever been to). But, really, it isn't as if the trains go to too many places. If you're so concerned with people getting on the wrong train, just cut them some slack if they do.
That must be what happened when they did the last redesign of Union Station. It isn't just the increase in ridership, either. The entrance gate waiting areas and the sometimes multiple ticket checks are pointless. If making sure people are getting on the right train is the point, have much better signage (this is a complaint that could be made of about every train station I've ever been to). But, really, it isn't as if the trains go to too many places. If you're so concerned with people getting on the wrong train, just cut them some slack if they do.
Arse Up
One sad thing about our path to a glorious social democracy is that even the best ideas in Washington get transformed into Rube Goldberg machines. I actually haven't figured the full reasons for why this is, but maybe it's just that wonks are gonna wonk (I also hate that anyone who can grasp really simple policy arguments fancies styles him/herself a "wonk." It usually isn't rocket surgery.) As someone I know in DC said (roughly), "There's no good policy idea that people in DC can't find a way to arse up completely."
The obvious one is means testing. We already means test through the tax code. It's called progressive taxation. There's no reason to add an entire additional layer of complexity and bureaucracy and verification to every new and existing government program out there. If we built the highway system today we'd probably toll it for everyone earning above, say, $100,000, but everyone earning less than that would have to get their income verified and a separate form and a special toll free card and would have to pay back the free tolls if they made too much money the next year blah blah blah. We'd have to contract out to private companies to hire "navigators" in order to guide people through the free toll application process. "Make the rich pay more" actually just means "make it harder and more costly for everybody else."
Usually this doesn't even "save" much money, even ignoring the individual cost of compliance and associated bureaucracy. Think rich people get too many nice things from the government? Raise their damn taxes. Don't use it as an excuse to make giving nice things to everyone else so complicated that it practically isn't worth bothering. The net cost of stopping a few Richie Riches from getting free state university tuition or pre-K is yuge. The cost of increasing taxes a tiny bit on rich people generally is essentially zero, except to the rich people in question of course.
The obvious one is means testing. We already means test through the tax code. It's called progressive taxation. There's no reason to add an entire additional layer of complexity and bureaucracy and verification to every new and existing government program out there. If we built the highway system today we'd probably toll it for everyone earning above, say, $100,000, but everyone earning less than that would have to get their income verified and a separate form and a special toll free card and would have to pay back the free tolls if they made too much money the next year blah blah blah. We'd have to contract out to private companies to hire "navigators" in order to guide people through the free toll application process. "Make the rich pay more" actually just means "make it harder and more costly for everybody else."
Usually this doesn't even "save" much money, even ignoring the individual cost of compliance and associated bureaucracy. Think rich people get too many nice things from the government? Raise their damn taxes. Don't use it as an excuse to make giving nice things to everyone else so complicated that it practically isn't worth bothering. The net cost of stopping a few Richie Riches from getting free state university tuition or pre-K is yuge. The cost of increasing taxes a tiny bit on rich people generally is essentially zero, except to the rich people in question of course.
Monday, August 01, 2016
Trump'd
If you had no stake in the outcome of this election, the whole thing would be hilarious. Trump can't win we were told. Then all the serious Republicans, almost all of whom now eagerly jump to stand by his side with the patented Chris Christie look of staring into the void, swore they'd never support him. They encouraged other people to join them! #nevertrump!
He's their guy. He probably won't win, but he could win. So it isn't so funny.
He's their guy. He probably won't win, but he could win. So it isn't so funny.
Finally Something The Kids Today Are Good For
I'm sure this will be a thing before self-driving cars, because of course.
Just call it "Nosferatu" or at least "Spike."
“I refuse to believe that journalism means massive privacy violations,” Thiel told the New York Times in May. Thiel’s investments in Silicon Valley are many; at the moment, he is reported to be interested in parabiosis, the process of transfusing the blood of younger people into one’s veins of clients in order to prolong life. Jason Camm, chief medical officer at Thiel Capital, contacted a parabiosis startup called Ambrosia according to a report in Inc last year.
Just call it "Nosferatu" or at least "Spike."
Both Sides
Referencing the Starr Report reminds me that all of the Clinton Rules journalism really was the ultimate expression of DC journalism Both Sidesism (it's more complicated than that, but that was an element of it). The DC press brought down a Republican president, so they had to bring down a Democratic one just to even the score, because both sides. It's only objective and fair, after all. Also, too, balanced.
Stuck in Town
A big flaw with the whole "new urbanism" model is that the developments are generally completely isolated from other places, except by car. You might be able to walk around town, but you have to get on the highway to go anywhere else. Walkable neighborhoods have their advantages, but one advantage of a "real" city is that you can walk from neighborhood to neighborhood as well.
It appears all of the DNC conventiongoers enjoyed everything our finest hotel bars had to offer, so that's good.
It appears all of the DNC conventiongoers enjoyed everything our finest hotel bars had to offer, so that's good.
Oh, Philly.Com
It's one thing for the AP to spell the mayor's name wrong, quite another for the local newspaper website to run it unedited...
It's "Kenney."
At a news conference after convention's end last week, Mayor Jim Kelley personally addressed the kerfuffle.
"I know it's an anomaly for many of us to see that," he said, but acknowledged that "it's been that way" for many years, long before he was born.
It may indeed be a birthright. Dan McQuade, a reporter for Philadelphia magazine, noted in an article last year that a 1916 court case mentioned "several automobiles" parked in the center of Broad Street. McQuade also referenced an interview with journalist and historian Murray Dubin, who postulated the practice originated with mourners at nearby funeral homes who needed to park.
"It's definitely unsafe. It's unsafe for pedestrians, it's unsafe for drivers. A lot of people don't like it because they think it's embarrassing to Philly," McQuade told The Associated Press in an interview. "But anytime someone suggests taking away something, people freak out because they're worried they're going to have to circle for hours for a space."
It's "Kenney."
The Starr Report
Another horrible person who was revered in DC.
Investigators with the Pepper Hamilton law firm who dug into Baylor's response to sexual assault claims determined the school's rigid approach to drugs, alcohol and sex and "perceived judgmental responses" to victims who reported being raped "created barriers" to reporting assaults. Some women faced the prospect of their family being notified.
"A number of victims were told that if they made a report of rape, their parents would be informed of the details of where they were and what they were doing," said Chad Dunn, a Houston attorney who represents six women who have sued Baylor under the anonymous identification of Jane Doe.
Morning Thread
For some reason, I've been thinking of Rob Ford, former mayor of Toronto, quite a bit lately. Even after crashing, Ford managed to get elected to his old seat on the city council. Makes you wonder how some people decide for whom they're going to vote.