Rock on.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Non-Partisan Bi-Partisanship
The political press are, of course, purely objective, having no ideology and no policy preferences. Except, of course, they do, both as individuals and as a culture, collectively. There's pressure (failing, but still) on Republicans to do something about immigration law in part because the collective agrees something must be done. Even though "something" is pretty loosely defined, it's about the most liberal "everybody agrees in a non-partisan bi-partisan way" issue that we've had in awhile. Doesn't mean I understand it.
Savvy
One big pet peeve is the people who inevitably respond to any report of specific state malfeasance with, "this surprises you???" Sometimes it's from those who are being apologists - spying on you is their job!!! - and sometimes it's from those who have long ago concluded that everything is inevitably horrible and that everybody else is just a naive fool who is unaware of the evil around us.
boring
boring
Bring It
Probably too much for a small blog post, but I am struck by the often one sided embrace of patriarchal gender roles, most recently with the whole "women against feminism" thing but usually it's dudes whining about how women actually expect them to not be horrible and then have the nerve not to make them a sandwich or give them sexytime on demand.
I offer no defense of gendered gender roles - expectations that men are like this and women are like that - but there's nothing wrong with a bit of specialization in relationships. Still if you really want to embrace gender roles, then there are, you know, two roles. There are expectations placed on men and they have responsibilities, too. They have to bring something.
Forgive the heteronormative language.
I offer no defense of gendered gender roles - expectations that men are like this and women are like that - but there's nothing wrong with a bit of specialization in relationships. Still if you really want to embrace gender roles, then there are, you know, two roles. There are expectations placed on men and they have responsibilities, too. They have to bring something.
Forgive the heteronormative language.
Surprising Nobody
And if they'd do this, what wouldn't they do.
WASHINGTON — CIA employees improperly accessed computers used by the Senate Intelligence Committee to compile a report on the agency’s now defunct detention and interrogation program, an internal CIA investigation has determined.
Hope The Hippie Punching Was Fun
One of the many maddening things about the discourse surrounding our recent glorious wars is that all of its supporters were much more interested in punching hippies than making sure that anything actually went well. Hippies would be all like "we're lighting money on fire and killing lots of people and nothing good is happening" and instead of observing that, yes, things in Afghanistan and Iraq are actually fucked up and bullshit, the response would be "nuh-uh hippies you just love terrorists and Saddam and in six months everything will be wonderful."
Everything was total shit. Really expensive shit. I guess if your friends all live in Northern Virginia that's a feature, not a bug, but still.
Everything was total shit. Really expensive shit. I guess if your friends all live in Northern Virginia that's a feature, not a bug, but still.
Nerdbros
Now that nerds rule the world, we all learn that they can be horrible too (not that it's really surprising).
Bendis's Powers is pretty fun.
Bendis's Powers is pretty fun.
That's A Bit Of A Problem
They'll all break before then. Enjoy the flooding.
I have no idea if this is a well-run authority generally or if rate hikes, as opposed to fewer fingers in the candy jar, are necessary, but those pipes don't last 300 years.
But in recent years, L.A.'s elected leaders have been unwilling to hike water rates enough to fix them more rapidly. As it stands, the city-owned Department of Water and Power is on track to replace main water lines only once every 300 years.
I have no idea if this is a well-run authority generally or if rate hikes, as opposed to fewer fingers in the candy jar, are necessary, but those pipes don't last 300 years.
Must Find A Way To Keep The Lower Orders In Line
If they're more disciplined about working at their minimum wage jobs, and pray more, they too will become not poors.
Also, too, new jobless day. 302K new lucky duckies.
Also, too, new jobless day. 302K new lucky duckies.
Nothing Important
Molly I & I both really enjoyed the United States of America Network's comedy series Playing House. The episodes come across as breezy & inconsequential, on first viewing, but that's deceptive -- the series explores real issues about friendship & love. And it's piss-funny. Hoping for a second season.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Assholes
Not that it would justify it in any way, but I can sort of understand that cops could come to see drug dealers and other criminals as "the other" and basically less than human. But when they (allegedly) take the drugs and re-sell them themselves...
The indictment alleges the officers falsified records, held people without arrest, stole drugs and shared in the proceeds.
What's In A Name
I admit to being a bit confused about just why the owner of that football team from Washington think it's so important to keep their current name. I'd think a big splashy name change would be a business win. Sell lots of merchandise, etc.
The Old Pipes Problem
I'm no expert on this stuff, but as the years go by the "bad infrastructure" problems are increasingly going to hit the post-war and later suburbs. It's going to cost a lot more, per capita, to replace old pipes in low density developments.
90
Old pipes everywhere.
The rupture of the 90-year-old main sent a geyser shooting 30 feet in the air and deluged Sunset Boulevard and UCLA with 8 million to 10 million gallons of water before it was shut off more than three hours after the pipe burst, city officials said.
What Could Go Wrong
Nothing, obviously.
The Pentagon signaled Tuesday that it is mulling its largest ever shipment of Hellfire missiles to Iraq as the government in Baghdad digs itself in for a prolonged fight against militants who have taken over hundreds of square miles of territory across western and northern parts of the country.
The State Department has approved the possible sale of 5,000 AGM-114K/N/R missiles and related parts and training, Pentagon officials said. The estimated cost of the deal would be about $700 million, and dwarf previous shipments of Hellfire missiles to Iraq.
Justice
Maybe we shouldn't open that box...
Nearly every criminal case reviewed by the FBI and the Justice Department as part of a massive investigation started in 2012 of problems at the FBI lab has included flawed forensic testimony from the agency, government officials said.
The findings troubled the bureau, and it stopped the review of convictions last August. Case reviews resumed this month at the order of the Justice Department, the officials said.
If Only There Were Shovel Ready Projects
Yes water main breaks are just going to happen randomly no matter how much maintenance is done, but we know that plenty of cities have really really old water systems.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
What Matters Is What I Think
There are several reasons I tend to not comment on Israel-related program activities, but a big one is that the opinionating reaches meta at light speed, that so much commentary is more of a pose than an attempt to actually influence events. It's punditry-as-narcissism at its worst. What matters isn't the dead or the security issues, it's how I, personally, feel about that! (chait, not loomis)
The Worst Intersection
Much of central/south Philly (and much of the rest) is a simple North-South/East-West street grid, but there are some exceptions, and this intersection is where it all goes to hell spectacularly. Hopefully the improvements improve...
Really Dumb Ideas
There are a lot of things wrong with implementing a VMT tax. And, frankly, part of the problem is this stupid obsession with technology. The only cheap/efficient way to do it is to have it be recorded off your odometer at your annual car inspection (assuming your state has such a thing), with the fee being collected by your licensed mechanic and then passed onto the state as a part of your inspection fee. There's no need for GPS monitoring. That's both stupid and weird. But that's potentially a big annual bill for people. Much better to collect it bit by bit in the largely invisible way it is done now.
Currently gas stations collect/remit gas taxes. There are a relatively small number of them. Collections and enforcement is a pretty simple process. Adding an entirely new taxation/monitoring/collections/enforcement authority for the entire population is madness. Going to send out the car boots for nonpayment? File civil suits and liens? Revoke licenses? What?
The idea that you can't increase the gas tax but you can add an exciting new and complicated and invasive fee is madness. Just increase the damn gas tax. Yes in our electric car future that might be a problem, but it's a problem that's a long way away.
(ht reader a)
Currently gas stations collect/remit gas taxes. There are a relatively small number of them. Collections and enforcement is a pretty simple process. Adding an entirely new taxation/monitoring/collections/enforcement authority for the entire population is madness. Going to send out the car boots for nonpayment? File civil suits and liens? Revoke licenses? What?
The idea that you can't increase the gas tax but you can add an exciting new and complicated and invasive fee is madness. Just increase the damn gas tax. Yes in our electric car future that might be a problem, but it's a problem that's a long way away.
(ht reader a)
But We're Having A Pretty Cool Summer Here
Climate change isn't really one of my issues. Not that I don't think it's an issue, it's just that it's one of those things I don't pay enough attention to in order to have even pundit level of knowledge about. Can't be a fake expert about everything! Still it's an issue.
Monday, July 28, 2014
Stop The Salmon
A lot of "bad bicyclist" behavior doesn't really rise above annoying, and a lot of it is, if not actually legal, often preferable to drivers whether they know it or not (responsible rolling stops in certain situations). But bike salmon are the worst.
I Didn't Do It
The real crime isn't that we're horrible, it's that you're pointing out that we're horrible!!!
Pretty Quiet
I remember being lectured by the usual suspects about how if I was a peacenik who didn't think we should intervene in the Libyan civil war then I must come up with my OWN PLAN for SOLVING THE PROBLEM or whatever.
So, uh, what's the plan now?
So, uh, what's the plan now?
A huge fuel depot in Libya's capital burned out of control on Monday, set ablaze in fighting between rival militias that has driven the country to chaos three years after the NATO-backed revolt that toppled Muammar Gaddafi.
Nowhere Man
Obviously GPS maps/directions are a wonderful tool, but it doesn't surprise me that drivers who entirely rely on them might not have much of a clue about where they are, that they never really form a mental map of the area. It's one thing if you're looking at your movement on the map, but that's not something you can really do when you're actually driving. Audio turn-by-turn instructions alleviate the need to actually know where you're going.
What Could Go Wrong
I'm amazed how little discussion there has been, over the years, about how maybe sending immense amount of weapons to regions supposedly filled with bad people who want to kill us wasn't such a good idea. Yes I know we were spreading peeance and freedom and in order to do that nothing was more important, after painting schools, than arming and training the local military (I'm not saying this makes any sense, but it was The Plan.) You know, I would have thought "free guns for Muslims" might have upset the Pam Geller wing of the Republican party a bit more than it did, but...
Over the past decade, the U.S. has poured unimaginable amounts of money into training and equipping Afghanistan’s army. Now, the Department of Defense office in charge of auditing the process is saying many of the 747,000 weapons given to the ANSF have gone missing and could end up fueling escalating attacks by Taliban insurgents if they fall into the wrong hands.
Baby, Inc.
I can't say I really understand what motivates people to go through this stuff, but these kinds of experiences must be horribly common.
Jonathan C. Dailey, a lawyer in Washington, wired Planet Hospital $37,000 in December 2013, the first installment on a contract for a single mother in Mexico to carry his child. He and his fiancée flew to Cancún to leave a sperm deposit at the clinic that would create the embryo and to visit the downtown house where their surrogate would live while pregnant. They picked a “premium” egg donor from the agency Planet Hospital sent them to. But nothing happened.
“It was just outright fraud,” said Mr. Dailey. “It’s like we paid money to buy a condo, they took the money, and there was no condo. But it’s worse, because it’s about having a baby.”
Sunday, July 27, 2014
No One I Know Will Ever Be Arrested For Smoking Pot
Ultimately that's how pundits can laugh about the issue. They don't want it to be legalized, but they don't ever have to think about what it means that it's illegal. I'm not entirely averse to the idea that sometimes Official State Disapproval is appropriate for such things, but only if that disapproval comes with minimal consequences. I mean, fine, write a $50 ticket for pot possession or whatever if you want to have Official State Disapproval, but that's different than locking people up for years.
Wealthy pundits think pot being "illegal" is good because maybe pot is bad and they'll never have to even worry their beautiful minds about what it being illegal actually means.
Wealthy pundits think pot being "illegal" is good because maybe pot is bad and they'll never have to even worry their beautiful minds about what it being illegal actually means.
Because We Haven't Had A Good Pandemic Panic In Awhile
oy
An American doctor working with Ebola patients in Liberia has tested positive for the deadly virus, an aid organization said Saturday.
...
The deadly disease has killed at least 672 in several African countries since the outbreak began earlier this year.
It Was Only Yesterday
Had a reminder of how we lurch from topic to topic in this country, from crisis to crisis, each one demanding our immediate intervention (freedom bombs) until the next one comes along and we forget all about the last one. Was seeing, for amusement, who was on the bobblehead shows today and accidentally punched up the listing from a month ago. The pressing topic of the day was the "Iraq crisis."
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Progress
NYT says it's time to legalize the demon weed.
Whatever the social costs of use - and potential increased use - it's nothing compared to the costs of arresting and locking up certain kids of people for using it.
Whatever the social costs of use - and potential increased use - it's nothing compared to the costs of arresting and locking up certain kids of people for using it.
Glad I'm Not The Only Skeptical One
I'm not to too optimistic about either the technology of autonomous cars or their positive benefits on our civilization.
I'm sure that if we rebuilt our entire street system from scratch around the technology it could be done fairly easily in the near future, but that would cost a few dimes.
I'm sure that if we rebuilt our entire street system from scratch around the technology it could be done fairly easily in the near future, but that would cost a few dimes.
Today In Getting Old
Mick Jagger is 71 today.
Saw him in a hotel bar in NYC once. Saw Ronnie Wood at the Prado Museum in Madrid once.
Have never seen the Stones live.
Saw him in a hotel bar in NYC once. Saw Ronnie Wood at the Prado Museum in Madrid once.
Have never seen the Stones live.
Morning Thread
thereisnospoon @ Hullabaloo thinks there is hope for the midterms, that would be nice.
Friday, July 25, 2014
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Obviously.
WASHINGTON — The CIA obtained a confidential email to Congress about alleged whistleblower retaliation related to the Senate’s classified report on the agency’s harsh interrogation program, triggering fears that the CIA has been intercepting the communications of officials who handle whistleblower cases.
Show Me The Money
I regularly get pitches like this. Are ad network sales people all incompetent? I'm not that excited about adding more and exciting ads to the site, though I would if they were lucrative and not very annoying.
(Yes I know the occasional autoplay ad is popping up. They aren't supposed to. They're violating the terms of service. I changed some settings which hopefully should at least reduce the probability of it happening, but as it isn't supposed to happen anyway...)
But, seriously, ad networks sales people. Here's how to pitch me:
(Yes I know the occasional autoplay ad is popping up. They aren't supposed to. They're violating the terms of service. I changed some settings which hopefully should at least reduce the probability of it happening, but as it isn't supposed to happen anyway...)
But, seriously, ad networks sales people. Here's how to pitch me:
Dear sir,
We would like to run ads on your site. The ads will look like this: [ ]. You will have the ability to block ads you do not think are appropriate for your site. We will guarantee you at least $X per impression.
Love,
Mr. Ad Network Sales Guy.
Not A Drop
Apparently the groundwater is being depleted around the Colorado River Basin, and that doesn't really replenish very fast even if there is rain.
I really don't know what happens if there's a major water emergency.
In the past nine years, the basin — which covers Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and California — has lost about 65 cubic kilometers of fresh water, nearly double the volume of the country’s largest reservoir, Lake Mead. That figure surprised the study’s authors, who used data from a NASA weather satellite to investigate groundwater supplies.
I really don't know what happens if there's a major water emergency.
Respect Mah Authoritah
Just need more guns, really.
The girl’s dog wouldn’t quit barking Monday night, so she let him outside. Chad Eric Pickering, 40, was there waiting, crouched beneath a pine tree, prosecutors say. She glimpsed a shadow before she was shot three times.
Pickering, who lives just northwest of Bemidji, targeted the 17-year-old hours after she confronted him about riding his lawn mower through her yard, according to charges filed Wednesday in Beltrami County District Court. He is accused of shooting the girl, whom he described to investigators as “a bitch,” and faces one count of first-degree attempted murder and 20 years in prison.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
The Only Intolerance That Matters Is Your Intolerance For My Intolerance
Being pro-equality should be a hate crime, no?
HYPOCRISY
Related to this is the genre of AL GORE HAS A BIG HOUSE* HYPOCRITE MUAHAHAHA. And, you know, if Al Gore was out there hectoring individuals for their individual choices this might be a fair charge. But he isn't. We can all do a bit through individual choices, though most of us probably aren't knowledgeable enough to know which choices really matter, but solving or ameliorating global climate change requires collective action. That's the point.
*I have no idea how "green" Gore's big house is and don't care.
*I have no idea how "green" Gore's big house is and don't care.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
What's It All About Then
Maybe it isn't the most important thing, but the thing which always gets me about the surveillance/security state is just how incompetent they are. It's either totally pointless or more nefarious than I am capable of imagining, and I suspect it's the former.
Woops
I think plagiarism accusations are often overblown. Citation customs are just that - they vary across disciplines and types of publications - and a few sloppy re-writes can be forgiven, but this seems like a pretty solid case.
I Suppose They Could Die
It's nothing new to observe that conservatives tend to have a bit of an empathy gap. This is occasionally made extremely apparent when one of them discovers an actual worthy cause to care about which they have discovered because it is something which has had an impact on themselves or their children.
Still one has to imagine that so many of them must have led lives of extreme comfort, almost unimaginably. I mean, is that hard to imagine being a bit down on your luck? To imagine being sick and not being able to pay for medical care? To imagine that you're one pissed off boss away from losing your cushy Fox gig?
It's weird.
Still one has to imagine that so many of them must have led lives of extreme comfort, almost unimaginably. I mean, is that hard to imagine being a bit down on your luck? To imagine being sick and not being able to pay for medical care? To imagine that you're one pissed off boss away from losing your cushy Fox gig?
It's weird.
Have Any Of These People Ever Actually Visited Another Country
When I'm abroad I'm reasonably confident (correct or not!) that emergency services will respond to my needs if they're, well, needed. Even if I'd overstayed a visa or whatever.
You Down With OPC
My takeaway is that Cuomo's corruption investigations were just another form of corruption, something done with the intention of hanging it over the heads of other politicians. Find out where the bodies are buried, and make sure everybody knows you know.
Corruption
in the NYT:
With Albany rocked by a seemingly endless barrage of scandals and arrests, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo set up a high-powered commission last summer to root out corruption in state politics. It was barely two months old when its investigators, hunting for violations of campaign-finance laws, issued a subpoena to a media-buying firm that had placed millions of dollars’ worth of advertisements for the New York State Democratic Party.Update (thanks to commenters!): Zepyhr Teachout to Andrew Cuomo: Resign NowThe investigators did not realize that the firm, Buying Time, also counted Mr. Cuomo among its clients, having bought the airtime for his campaign when he ran for governor in 2010.
Word that the subpoena had been served quickly reached Mr. Cuomo’s most senior aide, Lawrence S. Schwartz. He called one of the commission’s three co-chairs, William J. Fitzpatrick, the district attorney in Syracuse.
“This is wrong,” Mr. Schwartz said, according to Mr. Fitzpatrick, whose account was corroborated by three other people told about the call at the time. He said the firm worked for the governor, and issued a simple directive:
“Pull it back.”
The subpoena was swiftly withdrawn. The panel’s chief investigator explained why in an email to the two other co-chairs later that afternoon.
“They apparently produced ads for the governor,” she wrote.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
I'll Stop Right There
Chuck Schumer, calling for "top two" primaries:
Um, good? What a horrible thing it is for members of a political party to roughly unite around a shared policy agenda and provide a reasonably good signal to voters about what they're actually voting for! People should just be randomly assigned into parties, maybe with a sorting hat!
WASHINGTON — POLARIZATION and partisanship are a plague on American politics.
Political scientists have found that the two parties have each grown more ideologically homogeneous since the 1970s.
Um, good? What a horrible thing it is for members of a political party to roughly unite around a shared policy agenda and provide a reasonably good signal to voters about what they're actually voting for! People should just be randomly assigned into parties, maybe with a sorting hat!
So Inviting
Not sure how Wal-Mart can build new stores when the casinos keep stealing their architects.
Columns Which Shouldn't Have To Be Written
Our dear Villagers often have a problem with certain concepts. A major one is that they think "RICH GUY THINKS WE SHOULD DO MORE FOR POOR PEOPLE" is HYPOCRISY somehow, because no dictionaries in newsrooms. So, uh, spoiler coming...
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Also not hypocrisy, press secretaries (whatever their flaws), who sometimes insist on anonymity with journalists, pointing out that privileging anonymous sources might not be the best way to go about doing Teh Journalism.
Is it hypocritical for a really, really rich person to object to rising inequality?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Also not hypocrisy, press secretaries (whatever their flaws), who sometimes insist on anonymity with journalists, pointing out that privileging anonymous sources might not be the best way to go about doing Teh Journalism.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Social Experiment
Rusty's sense of his own masculinity is so tied up in his supposed love for football and anything that (to him) makes it less manly, such as toning down the impact of violence a bit or adding an out gay dude is deeply upsetting.
Tourists First
I don't really know anything about Millenium Park, but I am very well acquainted with the "do everything for visitors" mentality.
It also tends to give visitors the wrong idea of cities, that urban living is about the mass of cars that travel to big events, about the tourist spots and the skyscrapers, that it's all about scale instead of the finer points of walkable neighborhoods.
It also tends to give visitors the wrong idea of cities, that urban living is about the mass of cars that travel to big events, about the tourist spots and the skyscrapers, that it's all about scale instead of the finer points of walkable neighborhoods.
Other Ways
They've stopped shutting off water in Detroit for FIFTEEN DAYS. Hopefully it'll be more.
I get that collections are an issue, but aggressively shutting off water, especially in summer, is not especially smart policy. They're shutting off for people who are 60 days/$150 past due. That's really really aggressive.
Also, too, don't read the comments at the linked article.
I get that collections are an issue, but aggressively shutting off water, especially in summer, is not especially smart policy. They're shutting off for people who are 60 days/$150 past due. That's really really aggressive.
Also, too, don't read the comments at the linked article.
Destroying The Local Public School System
The state has run the Philly school system for over a decade now. Won't go into the full history, but roughly speaking if you add a bunch of charter grifters (not all charters are bad) to the mix, and then you cut the spending drastically, there isn't even enough money for the grifters, who get to go to the front of the line for their handouts in most cases.
The best option for the coming year does seem to be to open a fully staffed school system and let it run until the money runs out, in part operating under the assumption/hope that there will be a new governor in January.
The best option for the coming year does seem to be to open a fully staffed school system and let it run until the money runs out, in part operating under the assumption/hope that there will be a new governor in January.
Sleep
I get that the construction workers are going to start early, I just don't get why their noisiest work has to begin the day, including the traditional "yelling at each other."
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Even Later Sunday
Feel like the blog was extra sucky this past week. Not entirely sure why. Sometimes I don't have much to say.
Hopefully tomorrow will be extra bloggy!!!
Hopefully tomorrow will be extra bloggy!!!
Meta-Blooging
Really don't think it matters too much if Markos and some of his staff don't attend a conference.
"Pathogen Mishaps"
Cheery headline.
I guess the response to risky microbes was more risky microbes?
The recently documented mistakes at federal laboratories involving anthrax, flu and smallpox have incited public outrage at the government’s handling of dangerous pathogens. But the episodes were just a tiny fraction of the hundreds that have occurred in recent years across a sprawling web of academic, commercial and government labs that operate without clear national standards or oversight, federal reports show.
Spurred by the anthrax attacks in the United States in 2001, an increase in “high-level containment” labs set up to work with risky microbes has raised the number to about 1,500 from a little more than 400 in 2004, according to the Government Accountability Office.
I guess the response to risky microbes was more risky microbes?
Not A Drop
Hopefully this is wrong and the miracle rains arrive.
California is probably headed into a deeper drought this summer, making it harder to escape in the future, an expert says.
With more than 80% of the state in an extreme drought, dry conditions will probably continue and won't improve much in the next few months, said climatologist Brian Fuchs of the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska.
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Phoenix
I didn't attend Netroots Nation this year, mostly because it was at an inconvenient time. Anyway things change! Discuss.
Blasts from the past
Sterling Newberry has been reposting some of his more interesting old posts at his website.
We Do Love Children
So so much.
Some senior Republicans are warning that the party cannot rebuild its reputation with Hispanics if it is drawn into another emotional fight over cracking down on migrants — especially when so many are young children who are escaping extreme poverty and violence. But pleas for compassion and even modest proposals for change are dividing the party, and setting off intense resistance among conservative Republicans who have resisted a broader overhaul of immigration.
Gestures of sympathy, like a trip to the border by Glenn Beck, the conservative radio and television personality who has raised more than $2 million to buy teddy bears, shoes and food for migrant children, were met with scorn and derision. Some anti-immigrant activists responded to news that the government was buying new clothing for the detainees by organizing a campaign to mail them dirty underwear.
Why We Can't Have Nice Things
People like hanging outside when the weather is nice and having an adult beverage or two in a nice environment. So we'd better stop it.
Friday, July 18, 2014
Happy Hour, West Coast Edition
TBogg (writing at Balloon Juice) explains why he is picking Hillary over Elizabeth for the 2016 Election. Heh, this will wake everyone up!
Not A Drop
I still have no good sense of the likelihood of a major metro area running out of water, or just what the hell that would mean if it happened.
More than 80% of California is now in an extreme drought, according to new data by the National Weather Service.
Surface To Air Missiles Kill People
I know I'm a silly and naive hippie. Very Serious People know the importance of arming the rebels, and the rebels of the rebels, and of the governments fighting the rebels, and of the random people who might just be good guys today but who knows about tomorrow, because it's what we know how to do and our friends get rich in the process.
But, you know, weapons kill people. That's what they're for.
But, you know, weapons kill people. That's what they're for.
Thursday, July 17, 2014
It Was Always The Plan
Yes, Republicans were always going to impeach Bill Clinton. They were never sure about what, but once he was guilty of Monica...
So How Are The Kids Today Doing
With all the weird retrograde wimminaresluttysluts stuff coming from old but not actually that old dude politicians, just what is going on with the kids today? I mean I know they aren't all going to be saints, but is this virgin/whore stuff continuing with the next generation?
We Do So Love Children
We are the best.
“That’s my tax money taking care of a foreign national or however you want to classify them,” said Mr. Griffith, 51, a volunteer fireman and researcher at a chemical plant. “I don’t want to take care of a foreign national. It’s not my problem. We did house kids in Brazoria County there at the youth home. I sort of feel like we should be taking care of our own first.”
Overwhelmed by an influx of unaccompanied minors who are fleeing violence in their home countries in Central America, federal officials are searching the country for places to house them and have been forced to scrap some proposed shelter sites in California, Connecticut, Iowa, New York and other states because of widespread opposition from residents and local officials.
Too Big To Jail
Yet another reminder that individuals at big institutions have immunity and individuals at small ones don't.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Hardball
Fun times.
Click the link and read the rest.
O’Malley spoke at length to reporters last Friday about the need for compassion for these children. And he said that the government should not “summarily send children to death” by forcing them to return home, a reference to the administration’s effort to speed deportations, add immigration judges and beef up border security. Within hours, O’Malley said he received a phone call from a White House official.
By Tuesday, details of that private conversation leaked to political reporters via a “Democratic source” — and not one in Annapolis, according to O’Malley aides. The comments painted O’Malley as a hypocrite: the governor didn’t want these immigrant children returned to their home countries, the source said, but he refused to shelter them in his own state, opposing a proposed site in Carroll County that has since been removed from the list of options.
Click the link and read the rest.
Good Thing It Was Just Lumber
I don't know about that particular stretch of track, but it's known that there are bits of the freight rail tracks in the city that are a disaster waiting to happen.
I Vote Mark
Rich guy decides to dabble in politics, meets some consultants who asks him what he's interested in, he babbles something about how Silicon Valley needs to be "free," so they invent this scheme to take some of his money.
Not that I know. Just a guess.
Not that I know. Just a guess.
Increase The Damn Gas Tax
Add 8 cents to it (or similar) and then index it to inflation by law and you never have to think about it again.
There's Money There For You
One thing I think is a bit mysterious is why the big players spend so much money to resist modest attempts to curb carbon emissions. They're all in the position to take their chunk of whatever money is spent to do so. Instead of lobbying to stop this stuff, they should be lobbying to get their fingers in the pie. I guess it's similar to my confusion over why we can't just pay defense contractors to make nice things instead of horrible killing machines. These are all the best-connected corporations in DC. They can figure out how to make a buck no matter what.
What's Going On?
One of those days when I stare at the computer screen and just don't have anything to say.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Deep thought
How come guys get on the internet and turn into flashers? And how come they suddenly expect that women will actually be turned on by it?
Anyway, time for some memorial Ramones.
Clerks
I think this is right, but not especially important. You can have secular weddings and just go have the clerks sign the damn papers (I cannot claim complete knowledge of officiant laws in all 50 states). Again, I think it's correct to not privilege religion, and certainly specific religions, in this way, but it mostly falls in the symbolic category. I've officiated one wedding (had to write a letter to the office of Governor Patrick asking permission), and been a signed witness to a Pennsylvania "Quaker wedding" (no officiant, no need to actually be Quaker). So, yes, don't privilege "clergy" in this way but it's only a marginal issue.
Tech Bros Will Destroy The World
Eschaton World Industries assumes no liability for any negative long term health effects you may experience if you actually click on the video of that man singing a song.
How Does Anybody Manage
I mentioned this yesterday, but I really have no understanding of how social norms of parenting have changed so much. "Stranger danger" is hardly real. Car accidents and abuse by family members are real. Most 9-year-olds are perfectly capable of being on their own for some length of time without lighting themselves on fire. A playground filled with children and adults is not actually a dangerous place.
When I go back to the neighborhood where I spent some time growing up, I'm always struck by the fact that I never see any children outside, ever. Maybe that's just changing demographics and there aren't any children. But when I was a kid we'd wander around, ride our bikes, go into the "woods," go down to the creek, play street hockey in the middle of the road, etc. This was all normal. I didn't usually walk to school - there was a bus - but I would have been allowed to. It was about a mile.
When I go back to the neighborhood where I spent some time growing up, I'm always struck by the fact that I never see any children outside, ever. Maybe that's just changing demographics and there aren't any children. But when I was a kid we'd wander around, ride our bikes, go into the "woods," go down to the creek, play street hockey in the middle of the road, etc. This was all normal. I didn't usually walk to school - there was a bus - but I would have been allowed to. It was about a mile.
Deport Jose Antonio Vargas
Apparently the reporter/activist has been detained at McAllen airport. He went down there to find out what was going on with the current refugee crisis and didn't quite realize that the border checks deep into the border (100 miles!) are real. Airport plan apparently didn't work.
He was brought here when he was 12.
No the title isn't serious. I don't want him to be deported. But it will be interesting to see what happens.
He was brought here when he was 12.
No the title isn't serious. I don't want him to be deported. But it will be interesting to see what happens.
Getting The Band Back Together
The Bush era was good for some journalists. This was just old friends hanging out.
Monday, July 14, 2014
West Coast Keys
Posting from Oregon. Eight hours in a car is too much for these old bones.
Dinner, then an early bedtime.
Dinner, then an early bedtime.
Where Do The Children Play
I certainly wandered around the neighborhood when I was 9. That was sort of the point of living in the burbs - it was safe! And, no, stranger danger isn't a bigger thing now than it used to be. I also got dropped off at the pool..maybe not at 9, but certainly at 10 or 11.
Even if we truly believe this is a child welfare concern, "arresting mom" is clearly a bigger concern than "left at park." Not exactly a mystery what will be more scarring.
Even if we truly believe this is a child welfare concern, "arresting mom" is clearly a bigger concern than "left at park." Not exactly a mystery what will be more scarring.
Pennies
The thing is, state taxes in most states are trivial. Obviously they're important in that they bring in revenue which is at least in part used to pay for useful and even occasionally nice things, but even if you believe in Supply Side Jesus, the idea that knocking down taxes by a percentage point is going to have a huge positive economic impact is absurd. I'm one who thinks that the negative impacts of, say, raising the top federal tax bracket rate to 60% would be negligible, but I don't think that arguing the other side is crazy. But a minimal reduction in state tax rates in most states is just a giveaway to the rich, especially when you're actually increasing taxes on the poor. Who spend all their money.
The Reformers
I can never figure out if "education reformers" actually believe their own bullshit or if it really is just the Great Grift.
One simple thing which always stands out to me is the concept of "closing failing schools." Not just firing the principal, or bringing in new teachers, but literally closing them and pushing the kids out to other schools. I moved quite a bit as a kid, and also transitioned from elementary to middle school to junior high to high school, and moving to a new school for a kid is a big fucking deal. It's traumatic. How constantly shuffling kids between schools is supposed to be good for their education mystifies me.
One simple thing which always stands out to me is the concept of "closing failing schools." Not just firing the principal, or bringing in new teachers, but literally closing them and pushing the kids out to other schools. I moved quite a bit as a kid, and also transitioned from elementary to middle school to junior high to high school, and moving to a new school for a kid is a big fucking deal. It's traumatic. How constantly shuffling kids between schools is supposed to be good for their education mystifies me.
Motives
Rahm's horrible, but I'm not expert on all things Chicago. Has he done anything right? Is there a grand unified theorem of his wrongness?
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Now What Will We Do
Went to a block party to watch the end of soccer, but it was too hot and crowded and I'm old so quickly retreated to a friend's air conditioned house. If nothing else, the World Cup brought us one of the more amusing NYT corrections.
Sunday Afternoon Thread - Bugaloo
Sorry to be late, I love the grand kid more than y'all. He's finally down for a nap.
Tolled
I'm really not sure this method of funding makes much sense..
Dulles Toll Road users are shouldering nearly half of the costs of Metro’s soon-to-open Silver Line, a far bigger share than originally predicted.
Those drivers also face the biggest exposure for any additional cost overruns or delays on the rail line set to open July 26 — seven months late and $150 million over budget.
Commuters are vulnerable because tolls are the one share of the Silver Line project’s funding formula that is not capped at a fixed dollar amount or percentage of the final tab.
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Before It Was Cool
Once upon a time, maybe in the 14th century, before there was a Starbucks every 7 feet, I knew a couple of people from the Pacific Northwest. One day they were talking about how the city where we were living needed a Starbucks, because it was the bestest thing ever, but Starbucks was probably too "hardcore" or some such nonsense for the local barbarians who couldn't possibly comprehend the awesomeness of Starbucks. Needless to say, one moved in about 6 months later, and subsequently moved in everywhere.
I'm not sure what my point is.
I'm not sure what my point is.
Spaces, Spaces, Everywhere
Since it's one of my peculiar obsessions, I pay attention to how much parking is available when I wander around. And the answer in South Philly, in most places, at most times, is "a lot." There are generally 5 open spaces on my block, and it isn't exactly an obscure block. I'm pretty close to major commercial corridors. I'm even pretty close (10 minute walk) to cheesesteak land.
I get that people from the burbs don't know where to park, so if they travel too far from their intended destination they get a bit upset and nervous. But it's maddening that long time residents think parking is a major issue around here. It just isn't. Long time residents know where to park. They know the little alleys no one knows about where you can park. They know where the permit and permit-free zones are. They know about blocks like mine which usually do have available spots. Unless walking two blocks is a hardship (and it is, for some!), there's plenty of parking.
I get that people from the burbs don't know where to park, so if they travel too far from their intended destination they get a bit upset and nervous. But it's maddening that long time residents think parking is a major issue around here. It just isn't. Long time residents know where to park. They know the little alleys no one knows about where you can park. They know where the permit and permit-free zones are. They know about blocks like mine which usually do have available spots. Unless walking two blocks is a hardship (and it is, for some!), there's plenty of parking.
Gambling Our Way To Prosperity
Another casino closing in Atlantic City. They had 30 years to figure out how to use gambling money to make it a nice place and they didn't. Roughly, anti-urbanism generally combined with a desire to cocoon off the tourist bits -especally the casinos - was the problem. And now with casinos everywhere...
Sophisticated
What's the evidence for that?
There is no indication that the Chinese government orchestrated the attacks, or that anyone breached classified systems or stole classified information. But the assault on one of the nation’s most sophisticated military contractors is a reminder that even seemingly safe computer systems are vulnerable.
Friday, July 11, 2014
If Only There Were Shovel Ready Projects
Such a shame that there's nothing useful we can spend money on.
The Fruit That Will Save The World
I prefer jackfruit on the slightly unripe side. When it's more ripe it has (to me) a slightly off-putting custardy taste. But it's no durian! Not a potential biohazard.
Don't Assume They Know What They're Doing
I do think krgthulu's correct that our horrible economic policies exist in part because the super rich like it that way, but I think it's wrong to think they know what they're doing. Yes inflation is going to be worse for them than the rest of us, but a shit economy won't be great for them either. It's enough that they believe inflation will be horrible for them, it doesn't need to be true.
That rich elites weren't begging the government to take the health care nightmare off their hands taught me that they often don't have any idea what they're doing.
That rich elites weren't begging the government to take the health care nightmare off their hands taught me that they often don't have any idea what they're doing.
They Controlled This
Plenty of things are genuinely beyond Obama's control, but we have an example of something which was 100% in his control. And it was horrible.
What About All Of Those Humanitarian Wars
Whenever conservatives suggest blowing people up to help them, consider all of the other ways to spend trillions to help the downtrodden that they support.
Spoiler: none.
Spoiler: none.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Ads Suck
But I really try to not have stupid annoying ads unlike practically every "respectable" site on the internets which have way more annoying ads than this site ever does.
And yes I know there's an occasional redirect ad which you should not be seeing and when I figure out why it's happening I will stop it, but yr editr rejects all kinds of annoying ad pitches and by reject yr editr means "ignores crappy email pitches from ad companies." The google ads plus the commissions from you people who buy all the weird shit you buy from amazon pay the bills reasonably well, but it's definitely the top up from the occasional fundraiser which covers the difference.
Everything I do, I do it for you.
And yes I know there's an occasional redirect ad which you should not be seeing and when I figure out why it's happening I will stop it, but yr editr rejects all kinds of annoying ad pitches and by reject yr editr means "ignores crappy email pitches from ad companies." The google ads plus the commissions from you people who buy all the weird shit you buy from amazon pay the bills reasonably well, but it's definitely the top up from the occasional fundraiser which covers the difference.
Everything I do, I do it for you.
Assholeocracy
Maybe somebody smart should figure out why the great and glorious "economy" tends to reward the worst people in the world.
Scofflaws
Would it be irresponsible to suggest that stand your ground laws could be used to subdue dangerous drivers?
Of course I'm not serious. But this is the man who suggested that murdering bicyclists for the crime of bicycling would be ok, so, you know.
I confess: I enjoy driving fast.
Not reckless driving, just cruising at speeds more appropriate for road conditions than the posted speed limit sometimes permits. Pop the top on the old Solara, fire up the CD player and hit the open road. A new Mercedes ad calls it “feeling alive,” although the sensation can be just as good in any well-kept automobile.
Of course I'm not serious. But this is the man who suggested that murdering bicyclists for the crime of bicycling would be ok, so, you know.
Don't Need
It isn't that people don't want to drive in Philly, it's that they don't need to.
Driving in Philly is actually easy. Yes you have to accept that there's going to be a stop sign almost every block, so driving isn't necessarily that fast, but outside of the few blocks around our linear central business district, driving is really easy in much of the city. People driving into the city hate it because the transition from urban highway to urban street grid is problematic, and because they tend to drive in for events which attract numerous other drivers, but otherwise driving really isn't a problem.
Driving in Philly is actually easy. Yes you have to accept that there's going to be a stop sign almost every block, so driving isn't necessarily that fast, but outside of the few blocks around our linear central business district, driving is really easy in much of the city. People driving into the city hate it because the transition from urban highway to urban street grid is problematic, and because they tend to drive in for events which attract numerous other drivers, but otherwise driving really isn't a problem.
People Still Don't Have Any Money
My great insight during the Great Housing Bubble was that I knew that not nearly enough people had nearly enough money to afford those mortgages. I did not need my Ph.D in economics to tell me this, I just exist in this world and knew it to be true. Early on I didn't know about all the crazy securitization so I didn't know it was going to blow everything up, but I knew people's incomes couldn't support those prices. Because incomes are a quaint outdated concept.
As investors stop buying up houses we'll probably have another bubble popping in some regions. No jobs, no money, no mortgage payments.
As investors stop buying up houses we'll probably have another bubble popping in some regions. No jobs, no money, no mortgage payments.
Out
A rather obvious point, but the real heroes of marriage equality are all of the queer people who were courageous enough to be out long before that choice was anywhere close to being risk-free (it still isn't, of course). The potential cost of being out was of course affected by financial privilege and location. Easier for some than others. Not judging. But that federal judges all probably know gay people - and know that they are gay - is likely (don't know for sure!) the biggest factor of all of the pro-equality rulings over the past few years.
Wednesday, July 09, 2014
They Always Lie
We're at like the 57th stage of the "they don't do that/why are you surprised they do that" game.
Surveillance state liberals confuse me. I think it's fair to debate how much this reflects poorly on Obama and how much this is just an unaccountable monster that he he can't easily control, but that's entirely different from defending the monster.
Surveillance state liberals confuse me. I think it's fair to debate how much this reflects poorly on Obama and how much this is just an unaccountable monster that he he can't easily control, but that's entirely different from defending the monster.
Why Do Car Owners Love Curb Cuts
I know most of you don't care about my war on curb cuts (for street facing garages), but I remain completely mystified by the fact that so many of the parking concerned prefer houses with garages than those without. I don't mean for them to buy personally, I mean when there are new development/rehabs in their neighborhood. A private garage with a curb cut takes away a public parking spot and replaces it with a private one. Still so many people at neighborhood meetings or on the internet prefer any development with parking, because they want parking, even if that parking reduces their parking options. It's so weird.
1600 Words Per Week
Is there anything harder than being David Brooks? To think he gave up promising careers as coal miner and toilet scrubber to do this. Voluntarily!
The Poors Ride Bikes
Anecdataly it's certainly true in my neighborhood. I don't know what the word "hipster" means anymore, but the majority of cyclists I see are (presumably) Mexican and Vietnamese immigrants.
It Might Be Worth A $500 Fine To Murder You
The Washington Post manages to be awful about basically everything.
I get annoyed at bad bicycle behavior as a pedestrian because they might hurt me, but as a car driver the most likely result of egregious bicycle behavior is that you kill them. I guess you might as well do it pre-emptively!
The person who wrote that, and who regularly writes about DC local issues, doesn't even live in DC.
It’s a $500 fine for a motorist to hit a bicyclist in the District, but some behaviors are so egregious that some drivers might think it’s worth paying the fine.
I get annoyed at bad bicycle behavior as a pedestrian because they might hurt me, but as a car driver the most likely result of egregious bicycle behavior is that you kill them. I guess you might as well do it pre-emptively!
The person who wrote that, and who regularly writes about DC local issues, doesn't even live in DC.
Not A Commodity
I actually hoped they'd crack this nut, because the US could use a better and more diverse rental market than it has in most places, but I'm not exactly surprised that the Wall Street boys failed in their mission to turn rental housing into a lucrative income stream. Property management is hard and doesn't scale very well. Property management of single family detached homes is especially hard.
The point is...this was always going to be a tough project. They obviously just saw it as a spreadsheet. kaching kachunk.
The point is...this was always going to be a tough project. They obviously just saw it as a spreadsheet. kaching kachunk.
Freedum
How we used to mock and mock and mock the Soviet Union.
Near the end it was "bad" because it was a failed economic model, but up until that point the Soviet Union was "bad" because of all that totalitarian surveillance.
("Bad" is in quotes because it's a childish concept, not because I'm a secret lover of the Soviet Union.)
At least five Muslim-Americans, including prominent lawyers, a civil rights leader and academics, were targeted for years-long surveillance by the FBI and the National Security Agency. This is according to new revelations contained in documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Among the targets were the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations—the top Muslim civil rights organization in the United States—and a former Bush Administration official who worked for the Department of Homeland Security and held a top-secret security clearance during the time he was under surveillance.
Near the end it was "bad" because it was a failed economic model, but up until that point the Soviet Union was "bad" because of all that totalitarian surveillance.
("Bad" is in quotes because it's a childish concept, not because I'm a secret lover of the Soviet Union.)
We Run Things, Things Don't Run We
Nobody could have predicted that all night subways would be popular.
You'd Think Burning in Hell for All Eternity Would Be Punishment Enough
Didn't take long.
After a setback in the Supreme Court in the Hobby Lobby case, President Obama is facing mounting pressure from religious groups demanding to be excluded from his long-promised executive order that would bar discrimination against gay men and lesbians by companies that do government work.
Tuesday, July 08, 2014
The Marks Are In Charge
While we'll never fully resolve the stupid vs. evil debate, I do think that in the earlier days the great and glorious leaders of the Republican party knew that their job was polishing a turd. Whatever Lee Atwater was, he wasn't an idiot. But a generation of people raised on their brand of tasty, polished turds decided that they really liked the turds. And now they run campaigns. Ask Eric Cantor how that worked out.
The Visitor Model
Don't really know what things are like in Cleveland, but my local urban hellhole really needs to transition away from the "attract visitors at any cost" model. Yeah it's great to be able to soak the tourists with hotel taxes and similar, but it's not clear what the point is when those taxes just get plowed back into tax breaks for more hotels and to fund tourism marketing campaigns. Make it a nice(r) place to live - give your actual residents more nice things - and you have local demand/expenditures. You don't have to bribe people to visit.
Cleveland Rocks
So the RNC has decreed, and will ruin the town for a few days for their 2016 convention.
I don't think I've been there in over 20 years. How is it?
I don't think I've been there in over 20 years. How is it?
Mirror Universe
If a liberal publication was discovered to have been a conduit for commie intelligence plots we would still hear about it 50 years from now.
Scalawags
As I keep saying, I'm not surprised they go after the poors, but that they go after the disabled...
Monday, July 07, 2014
Happy Hour
Echidne, The Ur Slut and Pay-For-Your-Own Fornication. How Conservatives Respond to Worries About the Hobby Lobby Decision
This is such fun! What's consequence-free sex? No orgasms? No snoring next to you after sex? No sexually transmitted diseases?
Read the post to find the answer. It's long, but she really digs into the weeds.
This is such fun! What's consequence-free sex? No orgasms? No snoring next to you after sex? No sexually transmitted diseases?
Read the post to find the answer. It's long, but she really digs into the weeds.
Not A Drop
I'm honestly unable to comprehend what will happen if/when a water crisis hits a major metro area.
Priorities
Apparently it never occurs to conservative dudes that women might actually have sex with them if unwanted pregnancy is less of a worry.
As an economist, I must believe that their expectations are rational.
As an economist, I must believe that their expectations are rational.
Sunday, July 06, 2014
Also, Fingers Crossed Behind Backs
Just revisiting this, but it's amazing how if we just add meaningless distinctions retroactively then we aren't liars after all!!! Nor are we a completely unaccountable agency with totalitarian powers that we would never abuse!!!
God Glenn Greenwald is a dick.
God Glenn Greenwald is a dick.
Morning Thread
Here are some of the highlights of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's dissent in the Hobby Lobby case, as well as a link to the full decision. It's very readable, even for us non-lawyers. Sure to get your blood pressure up.
Saturday, July 05, 2014
Just What Do They Do All Day
Interpret this how you want, and then just think about.. just what is it that the numerous people with security clearances and access to the spy machines do all day? Once upon a time we imagined it was complicated and expensive HUMINT etc but, really, that was all kinda hard to do. Their podcasts probably aren't Ira Glass is the point I'm making.
Speaking of nannies....
Sheila Bapat.was on Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd to discuss Economic and gender justice are the focus of Part of the Family? Nannies, Housekeepers, Caregivers and the Battle for Domestic Workers' Rights (reviewed here). Note that Alito actually invented a new category of employee just to prove that he is either stupid beyond credence or will literally say anything, no matter how nonsensical, to get an anti-union ruling out of it.
How And How Much Money
Sometimes I wonder how much money it takes, and precisely how one goes about, dealing with all of the daily bullshit. I mean not having to deal with the cable company, or not having to worry about calling your damn credit card company when you're planning to do some international travel. Yeah, I get that you hire accountants and assistants and such to take care of a lot of that stuff, and the Amex Plutonium Card probably doesn't cut you off as soon as you try to charge a coffee at the Heathrow Starbucks, but some things seem to inevitably require personal participation. How much $ do you need to realistically not ever have to deal with any of it? What Would Mittens Do?
Teabagged
Weekend re-run, because I like this.
Major Major’s father was a sober God-fearing man whose idea of a good joke was to lie about his age. He was a longlimbed farmer, a God-fearing, freedom-loving, law-abiding rugged individualist who held that federal aid to anyone but farmers was creeping socialism. He advocated thrift and hard work and disapproved of loose women who turned him down. His specialty was alfalfa, and he made a good thing out of not growing any. The government paid him well for every bushel of alfalfa he did not grow. The more alfalfa he did not grow, the more money the government gave him, and he spent every penny he didn’t earn on new land to increase the amount of alfalfa he did not produce. Major Major’s father worked without rest at not growing alfalfa. On long winter evenings he remained indoors and did not mend harness, and he sprang out of bed at the crack of noon every day just to make certain that the chores would not be done. He invested in land wisely and soon was not growing more alfalfa than any other man in the county. Neighbors sought him out for advice on all subjects, for he had made much money and was therefore wise. “As ye sow, so shall ye reap,” he counseled one and all, and everyone said, “Amen.”
Major Major’s father was an outspoken champion of economy in government, provided it did not interfere with the sacred duty of government to pay farmers as much as they could get for all the alfalfa they produced that no one else wanted or for not producing any alfalfa at all. He was a proud and independent man who was opposed to unemployment insurance and never hesitated to whine, whimper, wheedle and extort for as much as he could get from whomever he could.
Saturday Afternoon
Arthur cooled things down. Banh mi from a new to me place for lunch. Quite tasty.
Experts
I don't know if this is a contributing factor here, but big problem with mass transit planning related program activities is that too many of the people given such tasks never actually use it.
Friday, July 04, 2014
God Emperor Of Iraq
Welcome back, Ahmed.
Ahmed Chalabi, the Iraqi who helped spur the U.S. invasion of his country, would be viable as its next prime minister though close ties he established with Iran pose an impediment, said Paul Wolfowitz, a top American national security official when the war launched.
“The man is a survivor,” Wolfowitz said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capitol with Al Hunt,” airing this weekend. “That’s impressive. I think he wants to succeed in what he does, he’s smart; maybe he’ll figure out a way to do it.”
Freedom
I still don't know how thousands of people shitting in the streets is going to bring about the Detroit renaissance, but I'm just a silly blogger.
DETROIT — A FAMILY of five with no water for two weeks who were embarrassed to ask friends if they could bathe at their house. A woman excited about purchasing a home who learned she would be held responsible for the previous owner’s delinquent water bill: all $8,000 of it. A 90-year-old woman with bedsores and no water available to clean them.
Morning Thread
The Halifax Examiner. I especially liked this bit:
Retro: When tax dollars were spent on citizens, not on corporate give aways. It would be nice to get back to that.
The city is finally getting around to fixing the Common pool and the adjacent Pavilion. Those facilities call back to an earlier time of promise, when there was the collective will to spend tax money to build nice things. Caring about kids, the future, and common purpose seems so retro nowadays. It’s good to see that someone on city staff still gives a shit.
Retro: When tax dollars were spent on citizens, not on corporate give aways. It would be nice to get back to that.
Thursday, July 03, 2014
The Internet Is A Series Of Assholes
I suppose the big challenge of spending so much time online is not extrapolating the empathy-less nature of your median internet commentator to the general population of humanity. Who are these people who have never made a mistake, or have never drawn an unlucky card?
Thursday Crass Commercialism
Because I'm sure some of you, um, have, children, yeah that's it, who might want to see The Lego Movie.
Why Yes, I Am Stupid! Thank You For Pointing That Out
I think my "favorite" thing about the Linker style is that his imagined audience is clearly people who are much less bright than he (thinks he) is, so he talks down to them, even though he's an idiot.
And Speaking Of How Much We Love Our Children
I generally apply this concept to the desire to pay our teachers shit wages, but what the hell is up with people who think it's a wonderful idea to pay someone precisely nothing to take care of their children? Is there any scenario in which that ends well?
Stupid Or Evil
Not that they're mutually exclusive, of course, but I think we have our answer.
As chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, has faced many a tough question relating to figures but that did not stop him dodging a simple multiplication calculation put to him by a seven-year-old.
Sam Raddings asked Osborne what seven times eight equals but the chancellor refused to answer. “I’ve made it a rule in life not to answer a load of maths questions,” he said. Luckily, Sam, who was part of a child panel interviewing Osborne on Sky News, stepped in to point out that the answer was 56. The chancellor’s refusal came just after he had told Sam in response to a question as to whether he was good at maths: “Well, I did maths A-level so I have been tested at school.”
There Is No Room For All The Cars
Don't drive into the city for July 4th festivities and then be surprised that you and the other couple of hundreds of thousands of people are competing for parking.
Pro tip: if you must drive into the city, park west of Broad and south of Washington and then take the subway to where you want to go.
Trains running late for the 4th. Subways running all night. With subways running all night, the Norristown High Speed Line is probably your last best hope to getting to the western suburbs. Last one leaves 69th st. at 1:42. Miss that one and the first one leaves at 4:20.
Pro tip: if you must drive into the city, park west of Broad and south of Washington and then take the subway to where you want to go.
Trains running late for the 4th. Subways running all night. With subways running all night, the Norristown High Speed Line is probably your last best hope to getting to the western suburbs. Last one leaves 69th st. at 1:42. Miss that one and the first one leaves at 4:20.
Wednesday, July 02, 2014
What's It All About Then
Please continue to give us lots of tax money but God doesn't want us to hire any gay people so don't make us do that. Hate the sin and love the sinner and all that, but really hate the sinner too because we can't possibly be in the same room as those people. And no worries, we'll have no problem administering social programs with all of that sweet sweet tax money to all people equally, and by all we mean most, and by most we mean some, because have you seen most people? They're just disgusting.
Just keep sending the checks.
Just keep sending the checks.
Liberals
I never liked the term progressive. I never liked that people thought they would avoid being demonized if they ran from the word liberal. I never liked that the term progressive, which we were supposed to embrace, was also imposed/hijacked by "Third Way" types who wanted to label their largely non-liberal agenda as "progressive." It's why from the beginning we were all "liberal bloggers," and not "progressive" bloggers. We knew the DC "progressives" were mostly assholes.
Vigilante Fetish
I think the yahoos who like to parade AR-15s and similar in Target just like showing off their external death penises to the world, but the ones who are carrying holstered handguns around are doing it because they hope to be able to use them. It's pretty damn exciting to see another guy with a gun! He's probably a bad guy with a gun! I might have to shoot him! And, you know, if he's a shade or two darker then there's a pretty good chance that jury is going to believe that you had a right to be askeered for your life because there's a scary person with a gun!!!
None of these people are smart enough to think this through.
None of these people are smart enough to think this through.
Good Guy With Gun Needs To Know If Other Guy With Gun Is Good Guy With Gun Or Bad Guy With Gun So He Can Decide Whether Or Not To Shoot Him
Good luck, Georgia. I won't be visiting.
A man carrying a holstered firearm entered the store to make a purchase. Another customer, also with a holstered firearm, approached him and demanded to see his identification and firearms license, according to the Valdosta Police Department report.
The customer making demands for ID pulled his firearm from its holster but never pointed it at the other customer, who said he was not obligated to show any permits or identification.
He demanded the man’s ID again. Undeterred by the drawn gun, the man paid for his items, left the store and called for police.
Strange Days
I don't think I came of age at a particularly enlightened moment in terms of sex and sexuality. The impacts of the Reagan era, HIV, and the rise of the religious right were all kind of peaking around that time. My fellow dudes probably had pretty concrete ideas about what made a girl/woman a "slut."
What I don't remember is my peers thinking that simply taking birth control was an expression of sluttitude.
What I don't remember is my peers thinking that simply taking birth control was an expression of sluttitude.
Can't Even Make The Roads Run On Time
I'm not one who cares too much about new highway projects (I'm sure there are some good ones, but generally), and there are a few I'd be happy to tear down, but failure to maintain most of them is both problematic and costly. No more money!
Tuesday, July 01, 2014
Happy Hour, or Drown Your Sorrows Hour
Here's Jeffrey Toobin on how the Court is deciding cases very narrowly and then using that narrow decision as precedent to move us radically to the right.
As I said, drown your sorrows time.
As I said, drown your sorrows time.
Noodling About
I'll need to ponder this more, but it's hard not to see that the Hobby Lobby decision grants more "rights" (stupid nonsensical ones, but...) to "closely held" corporations than to employees, otherwise known as people. Especially hilarious given that the right we're talking about involves religious beliefs.
SCOTUS Clariried Clarified Today
that their ruling covers all forms of contraception, not just the four mentioned in their decision.
Supposedly, these guys are the best jurists in the country. You'd think they'd be able to write a coherent decision.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday confirmed that its decision a day earlier extending religious rights to closely held corporations applies broadly to the contraceptive coverage requirement in the new health care law, not just the handful of methods the justices considered in their ruling.
Supposedly, these guys are the best jurists in the country. You'd think they'd be able to write a coherent decision.
God Emperor Of Iraq
I suppose I should be more pissed off, but there is something fitting if Chalabi finally assumes his destined role. Let's just stop having anything to do with it. He can have it.
Ahmad's Puppets
He found his marks and pulled off the greatest con of all.
BAGHDAD — He took millions of dollars from the C.I.A., founded and was accused of defrauding the second-biggest bank in Jordan and sold the Bush administration a bill of goods on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
At first championed by the Bush administration’s neoconservatives as a potential leader of Iraq, Ahmad Chalabi ended up persona non grata, effectively barred from the wartime American Embassy here. Now, in an improbable twist of fate, Mr. Chalabi is being talked about as a serious candidate for prime minister. He has also been back to the embassy.
Erin Go Gay
It's easy to dismiss the importance of certain clearly symbolic victories, but for anyone who studies the history of the Irish in NYC, and the US generally, this is not nothing:
It is of course grimly hilarious that intricate diplomacy was required to finally persuade a crowd of Hibernian fossil bigots to concede that homosexuals might be sufficiently Irish enough to march in a fucking parade. For fuck's sake, you'd think it was Ulster and the IRA burying the Armalites, and not a fucking parade in another fucking country.
I might actually go to the NYC parade this year. I long ago swore I wouldn't go until Gay Freedom, but really that was a cover, as I couldn't be arsed anyhow. Loud drunk white people from Long Island sporting plastic shamrocks, fuck that. Perhaps I am no longer sufficiently pious a Catholic regardless of this recent gay-march toleration. Ochone!
A gay group of employees from NBC will march in next year’s New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade behind their own banner, a source with knowledge of the ongoing parade controversy has told the Irish Voice....
In a historic move aimed at defusing the storm that erupted this year over the exclusion of gay banners in the march, the addition of a banner identifying gay NBC staffers is a compromise forged at the insistence of several New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee members, including Dr. John Lahey, president of Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, and Francis X. Comerford, chief revenue officer for NBC-owned TV stations.
It is of course grimly hilarious that intricate diplomacy was required to finally persuade a crowd of Hibernian fossil bigots to concede that homosexuals might be sufficiently Irish enough to march in a fucking parade. For fuck's sake, you'd think it was Ulster and the IRA burying the Armalites, and not a fucking parade in another fucking country.
I might actually go to the NYC parade this year. I long ago swore I wouldn't go until Gay Freedom, but really that was a cover, as I couldn't be arsed anyhow. Loud drunk white people from Long Island sporting plastic shamrocks, fuck that. Perhaps I am no longer sufficiently pious a Catholic regardless of this recent gay-march toleration. Ochone!
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