"We" spend too much money on health care costs in this country, but I don't particularly care about that. I mean, I do, it's absurd, and we shouldn't, but it isn't actually my job do worry about how to fix that. It isn't your job. It isn't the job of voters to waste their beautiful minds worrying about what the best plan to cut health care costs is, and it's absurd that for some reason it's expected that voters all play Wonk for a Year and try to figure out who has the wonkiest wonko plan of all.
People are paid a lot of money to figure that shit out. Go figure it out. What kind of health plan should pass that makes voters happy and doesn't make them upset because it doesn't raise their taxes or upset the status quo or isn't "moderate" or whatever the fuck? One which mails them a card on day one that they can use to go to the damn doctor without paying any money. Then the wonks and the politicians can get to work for the next 10 years fixing the engine under the hood.
Make voters happy by making them happy. Tomorrow. Eat the up front costs because we are a rich country and we can afford to eat the costs, and then spend the next 10 years clawing money back from the other "stakeholders" who have been looting the bank accounts of dying people for decades. Just don't make us have to worry about how.
Make getting sick slightly less of a hassle than Comcast Customer Support and voters will love you. It's that simple. The details matter, but the wonks should be working out that shit between themselves, not by writing memos on op-ed pages because none of us should have to care about them.
Saturday, February 16, 2019
Brain Worms
At his peak, Donald Trump was not going to be shortlisted for a Nobel Prize in Physics, but he was a normal enough guy who spoke in reasonably complete sentences and was aware of the world around him, or at least the parts of the world that interested him.
Degenerative brain diseases don't take you all at once, or even very quickly. But he isn't just a cranky asshole rich guy. The boy ain't right.
Degenerative brain diseases don't take you all at once, or even very quickly. But he isn't just a cranky asshole rich guy. The boy ain't right.
Friday, February 15, 2019
Portlandia
Oregon has an interesting history and present.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The mayor of Portland, Oregon, has asked the police chief to investigate “disturbing” texts between the commander of the department’s rapid response team and the leader of a far-right group involved in violent protests in the city.
The text messages show Lt. Jeff Niiya communicating with Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson during protests, detailing the movement of a rival anti-fascist protest group and warning Gibson a Patriot Prayer member with a possible warrant for his arrest needed to be careful. The messages were first reported Thursday by the Willamette Week newspaper.
Friday Crass Commercialism
Because everybody needs external drives. 4 TB for $99.99! I remember my 4k computer with cassette drive fondly.
Perfectly Normal Company
Zuckerberg 2020!
Facebook maintains a list of individuals that its security guards must "be on lookout" for that is comprised of users who've made threatening statements against the company on its social network as well as numerous former employees.
The company's information security team is capable of tracking these individuals' whereabouts using the location data they provide through Facebook's apps and websites.
Eff Off Then
This isn't about safety, because programming the things not to hit pedestrians in areas when they are driving relatively slowly is the easy part. This is just about making driverless cars work because they are more important than pedestrians.
I repeat: fuck off.
Though what people are supposed to do once they get out of the cars I never understand. In urban areas everybody, except maybe Donald Trump, is a pedestrian sometimes.
KPMG’s second Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index was published on Monday and it rates the Netherlands as the country most ready for the adoption of driverless cars. But there’s a fly in the ointment. In fact, millions of them: cyclists.
In the report, KPMG’s digital advisory manger for automotive Stijn de Groen was blunt: “We have a lot of bicycles.”
He added: “In urban, crowded areas it will be very difficult to start autonomous driving.”
...
In this future, pedestrians and cyclists may have to be learn to get out of the way of AVs.
Charlie Simpson, co-head of KPMG’s “mobility 2030” project, on the KPMG booth at MOVE in London.CARLTON REID
“There will have to be some reprogramming,” admitted Simpson. “Right now we’re at the stage of a guy with a red flag walking in front of the [19th Century] car. When that guy went, and the cars started to go faster, humans learned not to step in front of them. We are going to have to go through that evolution.”
I repeat: fuck off.
Though what people are supposed to do once they get out of the cars I never understand. In urban areas everybody, except maybe Donald Trump, is a pedestrian sometimes.
Not A Lot Of Whistleblowing From Hope Hicks
Maybe cultivate better sources? Two people close to Ivanka and Jared think this is a good idea
Journalists are so weird.
But really the point is how dare he profit off of book sales instead of letting ME profit off of book sales.
This stuff is damning. But whistleblowing in this administration has often come after someone has been fired and writing a book, not when they’re there. https://t.co/yghEj2wf1f
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) February 15, 2019
Journalists are so weird.
But really the point is how dare he profit off of book sales instead of letting ME profit off of book sales.
Upper Class Twits
Leaving aside the merits of Brexit as a project, The Discourse about Brexit has proven beyond any doubt that the wealthy Tories who run everything (not just MPs but journalists and many in business etc) are fucking idiots.
Conservative MP David Davies says warnings about food shortages in a no-deal Brexit are a scare story because there are "orchards in Monmouth where we grow plenty of fruit and vegetables."
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) February 14, 2019
Morning Thread
It's Friday. I'm dreaming of indictments, though there are no hints of any coming down the pike. Still dreaming.
Thursday, February 14, 2019
Give Us All The Money AND Do Some Stuff For Locals
The thing about the Amazon deal failure I can't quite get, or at least I think I get it but it shows how blind politicians and American oligarchs are to the obvious, is that had Amazon just said "give us $3 billion and, oh, I dunno, fix the subways or something" then the locals might have been on board. They couldn't even imagine that possibility.
I Guess We Can't Call Him "Amazon" Cuomo Anymore
Amazon not going to New York City after all. huzzah.
Idiots Everywhere
Sometimes I am weirdly comforted by the fact that the US does not have a monopoly on Kakistocracy, that this is not actually the worst and true manifestation of American Exceptionalism. But not always.
Read the whole thread, as the kids say.
Listening to another Commons Brexit debate just after spending two days in Brussels I am struck yet again by how little Tory Brexiteers (even ministers) understand the EU or how it works (thread)
— John Peet (@JohnGPeet) February 14, 2019
Read the whole thread, as the kids say.
Vaporware
Last year, Waymo promised that by the end of 2018 they'd have an operational public robotaxi service. Geofenced over a fairly small area, but still real. Such promises led to predictions like this.
It didn't happen, though they kinda sorta tried to pretend it did for PR purposes. Journalists still ran the press releases about how they were offering a "commercial self-driving service." They removed NDA obligations from their approved passenger list, so they can talk about their experiences, but that's about it. They still have at least one "safety driver" (and often two professionals, it seems). It's still not open to the public, just an existing list of "early riders."
As I keep saying, the technology is neato. It works surprisingly well! Wow that's neat!
People just underestimate how good it has to be before it's actually useful.
It didn't happen, though they kinda sorta tried to pretend it did for PR purposes. Journalists still ran the press releases about how they were offering a "commercial self-driving service." They removed NDA obligations from their approved passenger list, so they can talk about their experiences, but that's about it. They still have at least one "safety driver" (and often two professionals, it seems). It's still not open to the public, just an existing list of "early riders."
As I keep saying, the technology is neato. It works surprisingly well! Wow that's neat!
People just underestimate how good it has to be before it's actually useful.
Never Tweet
Yesterday was a fun day on the Twitter machine, with many members of the Foreign Policy Community, which appears to be the result of a generations long inbreeding project, stepping up to defend the honor of America's Greatest Human, Elliott Abrams.
Including the Vice President for National Security & International Policy at the Center for American Progress.
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Freak Show
I would like to see the internal memos at CNN discussing how they gave an hour of TV to some guy who is polling below 5% and hasn't even declared for president for a Presidential Town Hall or whatever the hell they're calling it, but this is the kind of good content they've provided us with.
Maybe he's actually Stephen Colbert? In any case the guy grew up in segregated public housing (he was in public housing, nobody ever did anything to help him) so it's quite possible that he never did see people of color.
Starbucks ex-CEO (and possible presidential candidate) Howard Schultz, on CNN town hall forum last night: "I didn't see color as a young boy, and I honestly don't see color now"
— Anthony Zurcher (@awzurcher) February 13, 2019
Maybe he's actually Stephen Colbert? In any case the guy grew up in segregated public housing (he was in public housing, nobody ever did anything to help him) so it's quite possible that he never did see people of color.
Did Trump Do A Stupid Tweet
So many days I think I should say something about national politics and there isn't much to say other than "Trump said something stupid and dishonest again."
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Go Big
Of course nothing good is going to pass in the Trump era, but this is when politicians have a chance to promise the moon.
No one but David Brooks and Chuck Lane and Jon Chait are impressed with half measures because, well, what's the point of going half way to the moon?
No one but David Brooks and Chuck Lane and Jon Chait are impressed with half measures because, well, what's the point of going half way to the moon?
Who Is To Blame
Dealing out precise blame in any particular situation isn't the point. The whole concept behind "autopilot" is flawed, and the company will always try to blame the driver.
Assuming this driver is telling the truth he was paying attention. You can't possibly be attentive enough to correct for a car which is essentially driving itself at highway speeds if it decides to send you into a median.
Eric Carter tells News 12 New Jersey that his X-Model Tesla electric car misread the lines on the road, causing him to crash near Adams Lane.
Carter says that as he was driving north on Route 1 with his hands on the steering wheel, the car turned to the right, sending him into the median. He says that he was able to slightly correct the turn and avoid hitting a road sign head-on.
But Tesla’s website states that autopilot “is intended for use only with a fully attentive driver who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any time…it does not turn a Tesla into an autonomous vehicle, and it does not allow the driver to abdicate responsibility….The driver can override any of Autopilot’s features at any time.”
A spokesperson for Tesla says in a statement, "Safety is the top priority at Tesla, and we engineer and build our cars with this in mind. We also ask our customers to exercise safe behavior when using our vehicles.”
Assuming this driver is telling the truth he was paying attention. You can't possibly be attentive enough to correct for a car which is essentially driving itself at highway speeds if it decides to send you into a median.
Delivery People Are Basically Paid In Tips
My other issue with robot delivery is... what labor costs are being saved? Instacart-type drivers are basically paid in tips. I don't believe that there are any cost efficiency gains to be had, especially given the limitations of even ideal robot delivery vehicles.
Parking Is Expensive
Requiring that units have parking increases per unit costs in high land price areas significantly. The focus on the affordability of new construction as opposed to affordability generally is a bit misplaced, but parking takes up a lot of space - and therefore a lot of land - and requiring that any housing units be built with parking increases the costs a lot.
Parking requirements are bad for other reasons (note we're talking requirements here, not even suggesting banning parking if developers want to build it), but affordability is one.
Here in my urban hellhole the NIMBYish neighbors, when consulted about projects they want, say:
1) Single family
2) More parking
3) Affordable
Absent massive subsidies, ... you can't do it, my friends.
“A big part of what I hear is that the limitations or compatibility restrictions, based on what you’re building next to, keeps down the amount of units you can get,” says Nicole Joslin, chair of the Austin Housing Coalition, a consortium of affordable-housing developers. “I hear a lot from people that parking requirements that are over what they would naturally need to provide for the community can take up a lot of cost and space in that development.”
And some elements of the proposal, like eliminating parking requirements for certain projects, would serve other planning goals as well.
“We’re already talking about how we stop mandating the overbuild of parking as part of our larger zoning rewrite … I think that affordable housing is just one of the many goals that get hurt when we require too much parking.” Casar says.
Parking requirements are bad for other reasons (note we're talking requirements here, not even suggesting banning parking if developers want to build it), but affordability is one.
Here in my urban hellhole the NIMBYish neighbors, when consulted about projects they want, say:
1) Single family
2) More parking
3) Affordable
Absent massive subsidies, ... you can't do it, my friends.
We Have Considered Your Criticisms
And concluded that, no, we did a great job.
I am mindful of the criticism, which comes from stupid people who should shut up and buy subscriptions.
I'm proud of our 2016 coverage and our team. I don't think we applied double standards to Clinton, but I’m mindful of the criticism.
— Patrick Healy (@patrickhealynyt) February 12, 2019
I am mindful of the criticism, which comes from stupid people who should shut up and buy subscriptions.
Monday, February 11, 2019
Get Out On That Limb Just As They Start Sawing
A long time ago in the glory days of blogofascism, occasionally there would be some Democrat targeted by the hissy fit of the day and comms people would reach out to people like me to try to enlist to us to mount a defense of their boss, or whatever. Nothing wrong with this. I have never advertised myself as an Objective Journalist. I am an activist if any label accurately applies. Just a madman with a blog. No one asked for bullshit defenses. The hissy fit of the day is usually bullshit. Responding to it accurately is not. Drudge ruled their world back then, and one out of context partial quote on that wonderful website of his, and every cable news program would focus on it.
The problem was (and probably still is) that every congressional office is tuned to cable news, and what's being talked about on cable news starts to seem like the totality of the universe. By the time the blog signal went up, those members of Congress were usually busy crafting their apologetic statements for their supposed transgressions.
The problem was (and probably still is) that every congressional office is tuned to cable news, and what's being talked about on cable news starts to seem like the totality of the universe. By the time the blog signal went up, those members of Congress were usually busy crafting their apologetic statements for their supposed transgressions.
Hyperloop
This one will work!
narrator: the pod doesn't move.
In an interview with Arabian Business, Houston said that the pavilion – which he compared to the Guggenheim Museum in New York – will allow visitors to ‘experience’ various innovations that the United States has to offer.
...
“There, you’ll enter the hyperloop pod,” he added. “It will be the first time anywhere in the world that you’re able to go through a hyperloop pod. These things will be designed to have the look, the feel, the sounds and the vibrations – what little vibrations there are – of a real hyperloop.”
narrator: the pod doesn't move.
Daley
Obama really did not surround himself with the best people.
Actual transit experts have almost universally dismissed Musk’s plan, which involves digging a tunnel from the Loop to O’Hare and shooting well-heeled travelers through it in pods at over 100 mph using “electric sled” technology. But Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants the express to be part of his legacy, so he’s pushing to get the contract inked before he leaves office this May.A theme for Dem presidents.
...
One notable exception is former Obama chief of staff Bill Daley, perhaps the most business-friendly candidate, whose brother Richard tried and failed to build an airport express when he was mayor. Bill Daley stated that while he has some questions about the project’s cost and fare structure, Chicago shouldn’t be afraid to innovate. So barring a third Mayor Daley, it appears that Musk’s plan is increasingly unlikely to happen.
But, at least until Emanuel vacates the fifth floor of City Hall, CDOT staffers are under orders to promote the O’Hare Express as a sensible and essential project, as transportation chief Rebekah Scheinfeld did in December in a Sun-Times interview, regardless of what they actually think of the scheme.
Self-Driving Package Delivery Vehicles
This one puzzles me more than the other fantasy applications of self-driving cars. Especially for urban delivery, speedy delivery relies on the fact that delivery drivers are going to do a lot of questionably legal things, both in terms of driving and stopping/parking. A self-driving delivery vehicle that actually obeys the laws isn't going to be able to do much here in the urban hellhole. And I'm assuming a self-driving delivery vehicle would still have to have someone on the truck to actually, you know, deliver the packages.
An Expert In 10 Minutes
I get that journalism requires a different pace and style than academic work. When you gotta file several times per week you can't really treat each piece as a dissertation. But there's a difference between accepting the limitations imposed by the reality of the job and the belief that you, A Journalist, have a unique ability to become an expert in any subject in about 5 hours and conversations with 2 experts. It's one trouble with the fact checking genre, which for some reason rarely limits itself to things mere mortals understand as facts, and veers into highly subjective "well my friend and Mercatus told me" territory regularly.
It takes awhile to learn a subject field. I get that journalists mostly can't be expected to do this with every subject they write about (probably elite newsrooms with resources should have more reporters on specific beats than they do but this is above my pay grade). That isn't really the problem. The problem is when journalists begin to believe they can become experts in any subject in 24 hours. Not just experts, but ur-experts, gazing down from above it all, with a level of knowledge and objectivity that mere experts can't possibly achieve because they have not been traind in Objective Journalism.
It takes awhile to learn a subject field. I get that journalists mostly can't be expected to do this with every subject they write about (probably elite newsrooms with resources should have more reporters on specific beats than they do but this is above my pay grade). That isn't really the problem. The problem is when journalists begin to believe they can become experts in any subject in 24 hours. Not just experts, but ur-experts, gazing down from above it all, with a level of knowledge and objectivity that mere experts can't possibly achieve because they have not been traind in Objective Journalism.
Sunday, February 10, 2019
A History Of America From Indentured Servitude To The War of Northern Aggression
This is a man pickled in a rather odd, if common, narrative of history.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam: "We are now at the 400-year anniversary — just 90 miles from here in 1619. The first indentured servants from Africa landed on our shores in Old Point Comfort, what we call now Fort Monroe, and while—"@GayleKing: "Also known as slavery" pic.twitter.com/AiX96MU1rJ
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) February 10, 2019
Where The Trains Should Go
Now with more color saturation. Everyone's a critic. @punished_marcus pic.twitter.com/IgYEeol6zS
— Alon Levy (@alon_levy) February 10, 2019
People always think about the start and end points, but even though America is a big place, there are numerous city pairs <300 and <500 miles away from each other for which decent train travel options would be desirable if they existed. People always respond, "oh, well, what's the point if you have to just rent a car at the other end" because intra-city transit at destinations is often not what it should be, but people already fly these distances all the time and then you really need to rent a car because the airports are not anywhere you actually want to be.
You Have Deal And No Deal
If you block a deal and then block a no deal you have....?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The government has sought to buy Theresa May more time to put together a workable Brexit deal by promising another say for MPs by the end of the month, as business leaders said the process was now in the “emergency zone”.
James Brokenshire, the communities secretary, said that if by 27 February there was no finalised deal to put to the Commons, MPs would again be given an amendable motion to consider. This would give them the chance to block a no-deal departure or other interventions.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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