Tuesday, June 30, 2015
I Don't Think Companies Can Afford These High Pensions
Better cancel them. It doesn't matter what the contracts say.
But I Thought He Was A Truth Teller?
So this is unpossible.
My testimony amounts to a warning: Don't believe a word the man says.
If you have the stomach for it, this column offers some greatest hits in Christie's catalog of lies.
Don't misunderstand me. They all lie, and I get that. But Christie does it with such audacity, and such frequency, that he stands out.
He's been lying on steroids lately, on core issues like Bridgegate, guns and that cozy personal friendship with his buddy, the King of Jordan. I'll get to all that.
But It Wouldn't
Dean does the heavy lifting here, but while pissing of the ECB might mean that the ECB stops bailing out the people who lent money to Greece (HAHAHAHA no really it's possible), they can't stop Greece from using the Euro. Greece doesn't actually have to return to the Drachma. Odds are in the short run the government would find it necessary to print scrip or similar temporary currency to pay its bills and wages, nothing realistic can stop the Euro being the primary currency in Greece or to stop it from circulating there. If people want to use the Euro, they'll use the Euro, whether or not the ECB stops taking their calls.
Neither A Borrower Nor A Borrower Be
You lend money at a risk premium. Borrowers pay that risk premium for a reason. That reason is that they might stop being able to pay. Then you eat the loan. That was how it was supposed to work, anyway.
The banksters are supposed to be genius financial intermediaries, properly pricing risk and making loans accordingly. It seems that they aren't very good at their jobs? I suppose it depends on whether that really is their job.
Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla on Monday portrayed his territory’s economic condition as even more dire than previously revealed and in a televised address appealed to Washington to make unprecedented, “concrete” changes in bankruptcy rules to help rescue the island’s finances.
Groaning under at least $73 billion in debt, Puerto Rico — which is being called “America’s Greece” — is staggering down a path toward default, a scenario that could ripple across cities and states that depend on bonds for building everything from schools to stadiums.
The banksters are supposed to be genius financial intermediaries, properly pricing risk and making loans accordingly. It seems that they aren't very good at their jobs? I suppose it depends on whether that really is their job.
Shorter WaPo Editorial Board
The people must beg for the beatings to continue.
Greek readers should be aware that doing the opposite of what the Washington Post Editorial Board demands is generally a pretty good rule of thumb.
Greek readers should be aware that doing the opposite of what the Washington Post Editorial Board demands is generally a pretty good rule of thumb.
Cunning Plans
Decree that your property can't be used for what it was clearly designed for and avoid paying taxes. Genius.
Trump Entertainment Resorts has filed a deed restriction for the casino, which closed last September, preventing it from being used again as a casino for at least a decade. It could still be used for another purpose.
The move was done to avoid potentially higher taxes under a bill Gov. Chris Christie could sign soon allowing casinos to make payments in lieu of taxes for 15 years as part of an Atlantic City rescue plan. The bill applies to any property that was licensed to operate as a casino in 2014 and that does not have a deed restriction. Trump Plaza operated for 8½ months during 2014, and the company feared it might be included in the alternative tax program.
Monday, June 29, 2015
Bork's America
My question has always been...did they really want to live in it?
The other point is that that Bork nomination was...28 years ago.
The other point is that that Bork nomination was...28 years ago.
The South
I was living in Europe was the dawn of the Euro was nearing, and being an economist type I spent time with a lot of other economist types, and for some of them it was just a given that southern yurpean countries (Greece, Italy, Spain), were just too "irresponsible" to be included in the Euro. Whatever the merits of the Euro as established as an idea, that notion was baked into the DNA of the institutions that helped to establish it. For some, pushing out Greece is just a way to achieve a decade plus -long "I told you so."
Also there's the stealing of everything that's nailed down in Greece by the banksters justified by the fact that Greece is too "corrupt."
Krgthulu:
Also there's the stealing of everything that's nailed down in Greece by the banksters justified by the fact that Greece is too "corrupt."
Krgthulu:
Don’t be taken in by claims that troika officials are just technocrats explaining to the ignorant Greeks what must be done. These supposed technocrats are in fact fantasists who have disregarded everything we know about macroeconomics, and have been wrong every step of the way. This isn’t about analysis, it’s about power — the power of the creditors to pull the plug on the Greek economy, which persists as long as euro exit is considered unthinkable.
So it’s time to put an end to this unthinkability. Otherwise Greece will face endless austerity, and a depression with no hint of an end.
All terrorists are evil...
...but some are *our* kind of evil.
Or at least the neocon/"centrist" kind.
Maybe someone should rethink our relationships with Saudi Arabia?
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Chances
One of my twitterers, from Philadelphia!, tells me I should point out to atriots everywhere that communist Bernie Sanders' policy positions are very popular. Even among West Virginian coal miners and gun toting Vermonters.
Maybe he has a chance.
At least as good a chance as marriage for everybody.
(Joe Sudbay audio link). Joe's one of the activists Atrios lauded earlier.
Maybe he has a chance.
At least as good a chance as marriage for everybody.
(Joe Sudbay audio link). Joe's one of the activists Atrios lauded earlier.
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Just Go
I really don't see how Greece has any other choice. It isn't as if the current system has done anything about destroy the economy. Banksterocracy is not helping.
Keep Hate Alive
The asshole caucus.
There is a striking unanimity among the candidates who are running for the party’s presidential nomination in 2016: Not one supports allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. And after the Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Constitution guarantees a right to marriage for all couples, regardless of their sexual orientation, the degree of difference among the candidates was largely a matter of how aggressively they would continue to resist.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Overnight, for the East Coast
Evening for the West Coast. Just had an outdoor barbeque with corn on the cob, bratwurst, salmon, veggies and other stuff. Life doesn't get better than that. And yea, SCOTUS! WHODATHUNK?
It Was All Because Of Me
Not serious, of course, but one thing I'm proud of about this sucky blog was being unabashedly pro-gay rights (all kinds, including marriage equality) and writing about it at a time when plenty of straight liberals were pretty squishy about the issue. Back in the early days of the blog I was probably still kind of an idiot about these things, but there weren't a lot of straight people with even a sucky blogger's public platform who did address these issues. Gay people didn't need my (or that of any other straight people's) validation, but maybe a few straight people who otherwise wouldn't have had some connection to the views of gay writers/activists might have learned a thing or two from my links, if not my stupid thoughts.
More generally, I think once upon a time the liberal blogosphere helped to knit together a set of issues which eventually became an a basic liberal issue bloc. Gay rights are human rights. Economic justice is justice. We all don't have to agree about everything, but totebagger cafeteria liberalism has long been a big problem. Oppose gay rights and you're an asshole. Fine if you're fine with that, but you're still an asshole, and not a very liberal asshole.
Squishy liberals went from opposing same-sex marriage for mostly the same reasons conservatives did, to opposing gay marriage on "practical" electoral politics, to not opposing it. I like to think I played a tiny part in pushing that along. The point isn't to give myself a cookie, the point is to be glad I was a part of something historic even if in a microscopic unmeasurable way.
Things changed fast. Decades of activism of all kinds by (mostly) gay people is ultimately what made it happen, but hopefully I did what I could as an ally. I couldn't do anything stop the stupidest fucking war aside from World War I, but maybe we all helped just a little bit to win this one.
For once "nobody could have predicted..." can be written without it being sarcasm.
More generally, I think once upon a time the liberal blogosphere helped to knit together a set of issues which eventually became an a basic liberal issue bloc. Gay rights are human rights. Economic justice is justice. We all don't have to agree about everything, but totebagger cafeteria liberalism has long been a big problem. Oppose gay rights and you're an asshole. Fine if you're fine with that, but you're still an asshole, and not a very liberal asshole.
Squishy liberals went from opposing same-sex marriage for mostly the same reasons conservatives did, to opposing gay marriage on "practical" electoral politics, to not opposing it. I like to think I played a tiny part in pushing that along. The point isn't to give myself a cookie, the point is to be glad I was a part of something historic even if in a microscopic unmeasurable way.
Things changed fast. Decades of activism of all kinds by (mostly) gay people is ultimately what made it happen, but hopefully I did what I could as an ally. I couldn't do anything stop the stupidest fucking war aside from World War I, but maybe we all helped just a little bit to win this one.
For once "nobody could have predicted..." can be written without it being sarcasm.
Oh Noes
Pretty sure life for Univision employees is no longer worth living.
Donald Trump has banned any employee of Univision from stepping foot on one of his properties after the Spanish-language network cancelled the Miss USA telecast.
The billionaire real estate baron, who is now running for president, sent a signed letter to the company's CEO and made threats about future policies.
"Please congratulate your Mexican Government officials for having made such outstanding trade deals with the United States. However, inform them that should I become President, those days are over. We are bringing jobs back to the U.S. Also, a meaningful border will be immediately created, not the laughingstock that currently exists," Trump said in the letter.
It's All Such A Giant Waste Of Time
Just stamp pieces of paper and let people in. "Bureaucracy theater" surrounding the Visa process is as useful as airport "security theater" is.
The State Department says it is working around the clock on a computer problem that's having widespread impact on travel into the U.S. The glitch has practically shut down the visa application process.
Of the 50,000 visa applications received every day, only a handful of emergency visas are getting issued.
Why Do They Care
Watching some conservatives completely lose their shit over this Supreme Court ruling (including 4 Supreme Court justices) is entertaining but also just bizarre. I mean, why do they care so much? No one is making you get gay married. No one is telling your pastor he has to have God bless this legal arrangement established by the state.
The only theory I can come up with is that they're running out of people who it's acceptable to hate, and when there's no one left to hate what will be the fun in life, really?
The only theory I can come up with is that they're running out of people who it's acceptable to hate, and when there's no one left to hate what will be the fun in life, really?
What's It All About Then
The banksters are taking control of the political system. Greece first, everybody else next.
From Bean To Cup
Heckuva job, Tories.
The Government postponed a number of railway infrastructure modernisation schemes because of rising costs and project delays.
In a statement to Parliament Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said he was pausing key parts of the £38.5bn Network Rail upgrade programme.
Probably Not The Best Path Going Forward
I thought it would be hard to get them to curtail use.
SACRAMENTO-- Most of the farmers and irrigation districts ordered by the state to stop pumping water from rivers and streams because of the drought are not complying.
Earlier this month, the State Water Resources Control Board said that almost 300 water rights dating back more than a century will no longer be honored, and their holders must stop taking water from the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
The Big Bennies
Once a upon a time we had a thing which was reasonably called "Welfare." It wasn't generous, but it was a thing. It is 95% no longer a thing. There are some government benefits that poor people can get access to, but other than Medicaid they're so meager as to barely deserve mention. They're important to the poor people who have to jump through hoops to get the pittance, because when you're poor every little bit really matters, but the point is that it is just a little bit. Aside from Medicaid, there isn't really anything worth gaming the system for. And we should all be on Medicaid.
I Don't Know Whose Ancestors They Were, But I Know Whose Ancestors They Are
I've never really understood the whole "who are my ancestors???" thing. Sure it might be of some interest for fun, but it doesn't matter. If I looked into it and discovered one of my ancestors was a serial killer, I'd consider it to be a mildly amusing party anecdote. I don't think it would really reflect on me. Sure slave ownership is a bit different, with the sense that perhaps you'd directly benefited financially from it in some way, but we really aren't responsible for the actions of our ancestors. What's the deal, Batfleck?
Especially if you voluntarily participate in such a thing...
PBS said on Wednesday that it was postponing a future season of “Finding Your Roots” after an investigation revealed that the actor Ben Affleck pressured producers into leaving out details about an ancestor of his who owned slaves.
Especially if you voluntarily participate in such a thing...
The Grift Goes On
There's a tiny chance primary season will actually be fun.
TRENTON - Gov. Christie is expected to announce a presidential campaign Tuesday in Livingston, the North Jersey town where he grew up.
The Kids Today
I think it's true that The Kids Today grew up/are growing up in a world which is radically different than the one I grew up in or the one that my parents grew up in. The automobile, telephone, indoor plumbing and electricity, household appliances, industrialized food production, the automobile, and the TeeVee all were pretty much in place by the 40s. Transatlantic flights showed up a bit later, and Skynet computers were slowly and steadily taking over various business practices in the background, but it really wasn't until the internets and related technologies that we really had a big paradigm change. The big exception to my general argument is The Pill which was of course revolutionary but contraception generally wasn't entirely new.
Maybe it explains why there's so much sneering about the youngs by the olds today. That of course isn't entirely new either. Every new generation is a bunch of lazy slackers with the wrong values. But I see something nasty in the getoffmylawnism that we get today that I don't really remember previously. I remember the eye rolling. I don't remember the anger. Maybe that's just because I get to read assholes on the internet now, a blessing I was previously denied, but I still think it's a bit different. I see a lot of hatred of the youngs. It's troubling and weird.
Maybe it explains why there's so much sneering about the youngs by the olds today. That of course isn't entirely new either. Every new generation is a bunch of lazy slackers with the wrong values. But I see something nasty in the getoffmylawnism that we get today that I don't really remember previously. I remember the eye rolling. I don't remember the anger. Maybe that's just because I get to read assholes on the internet now, a blessing I was previously denied, but I still think it's a bit different. I see a lot of hatred of the youngs. It's troubling and weird.
"The Influence Of Its Signatories"
I can't quite remember what it is, but I think the NYT is leaving something out here...anyone want to help?
The substance of the letter is less notable for what it says — the positions were frequent talking points for the Obama administration before it faced the inevitable compromises involved in negotiations — than for the influence of its signatories.
Among them is Dennis B. Ross, a longtime Middle East negotiator who oversaw Iran policy at the White House during the first Obama term; David H. Petraeus, the former C.I.A. director who oversaw covert operations against Iran until he resigned two years ago; and Robert Einhorn, a longtime State Department proliferation expert who helped devise and enforce the sanctions against Iran.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
To Whom Or What?
I know this is sorta nitpicking, but I think there's still a point to be made. Kristof:
The point is that all children don't have an equal shot in life because of the color of their skin (and other reasons, of course). Some people get bonus points, some people demerits, but there is no such thing as an equal shot. White people get a better shot!
And then let’s swivel to address the larger national disgrace: In 2015, so many children still don’t have an equal shot at life because of the color of their skin.
The point is that all children don't have an equal shot in life because of the color of their skin (and other reasons, of course). Some people get bonus points, some people demerits, but there is no such thing as an equal shot. White people get a better shot!
Bobby!
The grift goes on.
KENNER, La. — Gov. Bobby Jindal, who became Louisiana’s first nonwhite governor since Reconstruction but whose popularity has plummeted as the state struggled with a $1.6 billion shortfall, announced on Wednesday that he is running for president in 2016.
Have I Mentioned Lately That Shit Is Fucked Up And Bullshit
No? Perhaps I should more often.
But Rivera was unlucky. He went to court and stood before a judge who decided to set bail of $500 in his case.
Rivera didn't have the money, which means he'd essentially committed two crimes, the second more serious than the first: he'd pushed in a screen door, and he didn't have $500.
He was shocked to find that he was about to be carted off to the Manhattan Detention Complex, an infamous place also known as the Tombs. "I was shocked. There are real criminals in there, murderers and rapists," he says. "You've got to be real careful about what you say in there. One word can set somebody off."
"Rand Paul Is Such A Wanker" - Abraham Lincoln
The "founder" worship in this country is a bit weird, especially when worshiping involves so much respect for their words and deeds that you just get to make it all up to suit your own personal agenda.
"Opening public post office was the stupidest fucking thing I ever did." - Benjamin Franklin.
"Opening public post office was the stupidest fucking thing I ever did." - Benjamin Franklin.
Lovely People
Some doctors really just have nothing more than concern for the welfare of their patients.
The deliberate false diagnosis, though admittedly relatively harmless, should get Tiffany Ingham's license pulled.
I'm reminded of a college friend who told the story of how he worked at McD's when he was in high school and that whenever someone would special order food (no ketchup on the burger, whatever), they'd spit on it.
Then I went to a McD's with him and he special ordered his food.
Point being, they'll be on the table needing tests or treatment one day soon. Have fun!
The deliberate false diagnosis, though admittedly relatively harmless, should get Tiffany Ingham's license pulled.
I'm reminded of a college friend who told the story of how he worked at McD's when he was in high school and that whenever someone would special order food (no ketchup on the burger, whatever), they'd spit on it.
Then I went to a McD's with him and he special ordered his food.
Point being, they'll be on the table needing tests or treatment one day soon. Have fun!
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Consensus Parameters
"We've" all agreed for years that the get-out-of-racism-free card for confederacy fans and fetishists was to simply mutter something about southern pride and "state's rights" and the best most political journalists (not all political journalists and certainly not all journalists generally) could come up with is a "one side claims" with the occasional "both sides" added in for good fun.
Every now and then something bubbles up which makes that basic narrative hard to avoid challenging, but things generally snap back to "normal" fairly quickly. Who can say, really, if displaying the Confederate Flag is signalling support for racism and slavery? Also, too, Robert Byrd, so there.
Every now and then something bubbles up which makes that basic narrative hard to avoid challenging, but things generally snap back to "normal" fairly quickly. Who can say, really, if displaying the Confederate Flag is signalling support for racism and slavery? Also, too, Robert Byrd, so there.
Oh That Flag
It appears that in 2015 a few more people have decided that maybe, just maybe, the confederate flag is a tribute to racism. I guess we're making progress.
Oh That CCC
Every few years the political press rediscovers, briefly, the CCC and their ties to Republicans.
Since 2011, Mr. Holt has also contributed at least $3,500 to Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, a Republican who is expected to run for president. A spokesman for Mr. Walker said he would donate the money to the Mother Emanuel Hope Fund, which is helping families of the Charleston massacre. All told, Mr. Holt, who did not return calls for comment, has given at least $57,000 to Republican candidates for federal and state offices.
But those contributions, first reported by The Guardian, tell only part of the story of the council’s ties to Southern Republican officeholders. In the 1990s, the council counted influential Republican friends from town halls to the halls of Congress. Among those who have addressed its meetings were Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, at one time the Senate majority leader; Haley Barbour, a former national Republican chairman who was campaigning for governor in Mississippi at the time; and Mike Huckabee, the presidential candidate who was then Arkansas’ lieutenant governor. More recently, Gov. Nikki R. Haley of South Carolina dropped a council official in her state, Roan Garcia-Quintana, from her re-election campaign’s advisory committee in 2013 after his ties to the group became public.
If We Stick Our Heads In The Sand
I'm sure this is a sign that everything is going smoothly.
The rationale is the panel somehow creates legal risk for the state. I'm sure removing independent oversight and having the sole information source be the people you're writing big checks too solves this problem brilliantly.
As the state of Washington and its Highway 99 tunnel contractors careen toward litigation, the Legislature has suddenly scrapped the panel that monitors the project.
...
Instead of funding a panel that offers technical and financial perspective, lawmakers would hold their own committee meetings to seek information from project leaders.
The rationale is the panel somehow creates legal risk for the state. I'm sure removing independent oversight and having the sole information source be the people you're writing big checks too solves this problem brilliantly.
Treason In Defense Of Slavery
My not especially enligthened asshole college friend (good guy other than the fact that he liked to picks fights too much) amused me when we were roadtripping to Alabama (long story, never mind) and he said to some random local something like, "What the fuck is wrong with you people? The Civil War is over, we [Yankees] won!"
I guess what grates me about the whole "Southern Pride" thing is that political concerns of the South (good, bad, whatever) were overrepresented in Congress and in the media for decades. It's faded a bit, but once upon a time the Generic White Independent Man of Ron Fournier's dreams was Southern White Man. And all politicians in popular media were from the South. The good and/or important ones, anyway.
You aren't an oppressed, and you didn't have a noble cause in the Civil War. Deal with it.
I guess what grates me about the whole "Southern Pride" thing is that political concerns of the South (good, bad, whatever) were overrepresented in Congress and in the media for decades. It's faded a bit, but once upon a time the Generic White Independent Man of Ron Fournier's dreams was Southern White Man. And all politicians in popular media were from the South. The good and/or important ones, anyway.
You aren't an oppressed, and you didn't have a noble cause in the Civil War. Deal with it.
Monday, June 22, 2015
Luddites Unite
For some reason Ludditery angers some people. But, you know, I'm not (at the moment) advocating that we use the power of the state to crush the new (in my opinion) vaporware that is self-driving cars. I just think the technology won't work as suggested in my lifetime. Don't really care if I'm right or wrong, though I will care if we spend a bunch of stupid public money on infrastructure designed to aid this technology that isn't going to exist anytime soon.
Of Course They'll Deal With The "Symptoms" First
Once they kill all the benefits the high wages will magically appear, right? That's how it works, right? Maybe declare a "light a 20 pound note in front of a homeless person for inspiration" annual holiday. That might do it.
The prime minister will make the comments in a speech in Runcorn on Monday morning just weeks before George Osborne, the chancellor, sets out £12bn of welfare cuts, seeking to justify them in terms of both reducing the deficit and the need for further changes to incentivise work.
In his speech on “opportunity”, Cameron will say Britain needs to move from a “low-wage, high-tax, high-welfare society to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare society”.
What's The Grift
The remaining questions with Sweet Briar College are: just what was the grift, who was in on it, whether we'll ever actually find out, and whether the college will manage to remain open for more than a year.
I have no knowledge of what was going on there, but stealing the assets of non-profits has been a very lucrative activity for the last few decades (see: hospitals).
I have no knowledge of what was going on there, but stealing the assets of non-profits has been a very lucrative activity for the last few decades (see: hospitals).
How About Free?
Things are a bit messy when it comes to intellectual property issues in the glorious age of the internet, but it's one thing for me to post a Youtube video which may or may not be properly licensed (that's youtube's problem, not mine), another thing for a giant rich company to just say "join us for free or else."
Especially when they explicitly targeted the "little guys" of the industry. Assholes. Also, too, thanks for bricking my inlaws' iPad with your "software update" and then lying about it to me. No I won't forget. Assholes.
Apple said Sunday it will pay independent labels and artists for music on its new streaming service during its three-month free trial period, reversing its earlier policy in the face of criticism from Swift and others.
Especially when they explicitly targeted the "little guys" of the industry. Assholes. Also, too, thanks for bricking my inlaws' iPad with your "software update" and then lying about it to me. No I won't forget. Assholes.
A Culture Of Corruption
I can imagine that watching civilian contractors get all the moneys might make one want to figure out how to get all the moneys.
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Boycott Uber
They hate our freedum.
NEW YORK (AP) — Ride-hailing app company Uber says it is banning its riders and drivers from carrying guns.
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Is It That Hard
I get that conservatives want to downplay the existence of racism, but is it really that hard to admit that in a country of 320 million there might be a few homocidal racists? I haven't even seen many liberals (or others) try to link the Charleston shootings to mainstream conservatism in any way, whether or not that's valid (ok, it's valid, but it's slightly complicated). It'd be one thing if the mainstream discourse was filled with people blaming Rush Limbaugh and conservative politicians for what happened, but I haven't even seen that really. It's as if the simple existence of racism is an indictment of brand conservatism. And, you know, it probably is, but it isn't as if that many people with prominent platforms are actually making that case. Defensive much?
Lon Gisland
I'm not exactly uninterested in the ways the Clintons have earned their money, but they get scrutiny for the ways they spend it in the way that no Republican candidate ever does.
Bush had his Crawford Ranch, the "Western White House," which was sold 5 seconds after it ceased to be a prop. Back in the day it was a big deal that ZOMG the Clintons vacationed in Martha's Vineyard!!! Whatever else one can say about them, they really didn't have any money when Bill was president (not President Level money). The Vineyard is a weird place, not cheap in season, but not really the luxury resort the press likes to pretend it is. Clinton didn't have a vacation home and the Vineyard is a pretty easy place for the Secret Service to deal with security. Also, too, long time vacation place for relatively well-off African-Americans, which makes it elitist because reasons.
Post-presidents need a place that allows for relative privacy and security. I don't really know why most of the people who go to the Hamptons do. Sounds like Teh Suck to me, but I get why the Clintons would.
Bush had his Crawford Ranch, the "Western White House," which was sold 5 seconds after it ceased to be a prop. Back in the day it was a big deal that ZOMG the Clintons vacationed in Martha's Vineyard!!! Whatever else one can say about them, they really didn't have any money when Bill was president (not President Level money). The Vineyard is a weird place, not cheap in season, but not really the luxury resort the press likes to pretend it is. Clinton didn't have a vacation home and the Vineyard is a pretty easy place for the Secret Service to deal with security. Also, too, long time vacation place for relatively well-off African-Americans, which makes it elitist because reasons.
Post-presidents need a place that allows for relative privacy and security. I don't really know why most of the people who go to the Hamptons do. Sounds like Teh Suck to me, but I get why the Clintons would.
Friday, June 19, 2015
Accidents
One issue is that many gun "accidents" like car "accidents" really aren't, or at least not in the way that I think of accidents. At some point the behavior is clearly negligent, whether we're talking about "accidentally" ramming a pedestrian with the clear right of way, or "accidentally" having your gun go off and kill your own kid because you dropped it with the safety off. Just such a tragedy, you know, can't be helped. Somehow for individual behavior this reasoning only seems to apply when guns or cars are involved (excuses for corporate behavior covers just about everything, of course).
Waste, Fraud, And Abuse
It exists, just not usually where conservatives pretend it exists.
And in Michigan, another physician allegedly prescribed unnecessary narcotic painkillers in return for the use of his patients’ IDs to generate additional false billings. When they tried to escape the scheme, authorities say, he threatened to cut off the medications, to which his patients were addicted.
What To Do About The Guns
As I have written many times before, when I am your benevolent dictator, I will in fact take all of your guns away. But absent that, count me as one who just doesn't think there's much we can do that would be deemed to be constitutional by the people who decide such things that would even help. Also it is the case the the gun control laws we do have are primarily used as an excuse to harass young black males with things like car searches and stop and frisk policies. What little gun control we do have in my glorious state is essentially limited (by the state) to the city of Philadelphia because you can guess why.
I can see why people like to hunt and shoot targets occasionally. The people who carry or stash them in their homes for "self defense" are, except for special circumstances, basically bonkers to me. The people who collect big semi-automatic guns or whatever we're supposed to call those big things that go pew pew pew really fast (gun nuts get really pedantic about this stuff and I don't give a shit), because it's a fetish or because they're planning on winning their standoff with the guvmint, are dangerous.
And, yes, guns kill people. Take away the guns and there would be fewer "accidental" deaths and fewer murders. All those stories of courageous people using their guns in genuine self defense never really seem to make it into the media for some reason. I blame this censorship on libturds.
I can see why people like to hunt and shoot targets occasionally. The people who carry or stash them in their homes for "self defense" are, except for special circumstances, basically bonkers to me. The people who collect big semi-automatic guns or whatever we're supposed to call those big things that go pew pew pew really fast (gun nuts get really pedantic about this stuff and I don't give a shit), because it's a fetish or because they're planning on winning their standoff with the guvmint, are dangerous.
And, yes, guns kill people. Take away the guns and there would be fewer "accidental" deaths and fewer murders. All those stories of courageous people using their guns in genuine self defense never really seem to make it into the media for some reason. I blame this censorship on libturds.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Taste the difference
When Bernie met Hillary
Two different ways of looking at the world. In one, you try to change things for the better. In the other, you just assume the 1% will win and do nothing to fight them.
The Talking Points Arrive Quickly
Despite common sense, the things he said while he was killing people, and the things his roommate has claimed that he said, the most likely motive for the murders in Charleston is a hatred of Christians.
Makes sense.
Makes sense.
Too Early For Happy Hour Thread
enjoy
...and another.
...and another.
A major water main break in Northwest Philadelphia flooded a busy shopping center and forced some to be evacuated from stores using an inflatable raft.
The 48-inch main broke open around 3:30 p.m. Thursday at the Bakers Square shopping center at Fox Street and Roberts Avenue in the East Falls section of Philadelphia, water department officials said.
Not A Drop To Drink
Shit's getting real.
But now, an upscale master-planned community of 15,000 residents in San Joaquin County is facing the loss of all water supplies within days — prompting a frantic search for new sources.
Find Him
This is terrorism.
CHARLESTON, S.C. — A white gunman opened fire Wednesday night at a historic black church in this city’s downtown, killing nine people before fleeing and setting off an overnight manhunt, the police said.
Scroogled
The guy who ran a can't lose political campaign and didn't know how candidates actually won delegates? Let's hire him.
American meritocracy is a funny thing.
American meritocracy is a funny thing.
Just a small country
The "centrist" push-back against the story of Iceland's recovery is that it doesn't count because it's such a small country.
Of course, the same solution was tried in a much bigger country and worked fabulously well, making it the richest country in the world even though they were in the midst of a great depression.
That country, of course, was the United States of America, and that solution gave us The New Deal.
Which worked. And worked. And worked.
Until the GOP and the "centrists" started to dismantle it.
And now things bite, so SOMEBODY PLEASE MAKE THEM STOP.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Upper Class Twits
I saw Boris Johnson at the theatre once. Stephen Fry was there too. Quite the exciting night! Anyway, his look and demeanor are an amazing affectation. He does genuinely ride his bike, wearing his ill-fitting suits and his too-small backpack. It's sort of quaint, except for the fact that he's an asshole.
Trash
Indeed.
(Some) people in South Philly still go nuclear if you even suggest it. It's nuts. Recognize that if they aren't willing to move their cars during the work day (for most people) it means that they don't need those cars to commute. They just like the almost free long term car storage they have access to.
Residents angry about having to move their cars caused city officials to shut down citywide street sweeping, according Democratic mayoral nominee Jim Kenney.
“I went through this with [former Councilman] Frank DiCicco as a South Philadelphia resident. He had a very intense street sweeping program. It was only once a week but he took so much grief for it, he stopped the program by fear of not being reelected,” Kenney said in a recent interview with Philly.com. “I can’t see why everybody should suffer as a result of the selfishness of some people that just don’t want to move their cars for a couple hours one day a week.”
(Some) people in South Philly still go nuclear if you even suggest it. It's nuts. Recognize that if they aren't willing to move their cars during the work day (for most people) it means that they don't need those cars to commute. They just like the almost free long term car storage they have access to.
You Have One (Important) Job
Well I guess they should just be bailed out again.
The great casino is much more fun than processing silly disability allowance payments.
About 600,000 payments due to customers of Royal Bank of Scotland have failed to turn up in accounts in the latest technology failure to hit a UK bank.
Payments that the bank initially described as missing included tax credits and disability living allowance.
The great casino is much more fun than processing silly disability allowance payments.
The Kids Today
Total slackers who can't save for their retirement, save for a downpayment, and pay for college/pay off their student loans just like I did in the era when we all pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps with no help from anyone at all nosiree.
"Keep in mind that three out of four college students today are in public universities, but they’re paying far more than they did a generation ago," Warren said. "Adjusted for inflation, somebody going to college today to a state university, is paying about 300 percent of what her mom or dad did just 30 years ago."
They Really Get In The Way Of The Cocaine Parties And Orgies
It's true that I don't have children because of TEH HEDONISM.
Anyway, make up your minds. Having children is THE GREATEST THING EVER or it's a SELFLESS ACT THAT SELFISH NON-BREEDERS DON'T DO BECAUSE THEY'RE SELFISHLY SELFISH.
You can't have both. And you don't have to, because who cares? Do what you want. Have them, don't have them, who gives a shit?
The obsession with the fertility decisions of other people is so weird. Everybody should have kids, except poor women who should be chaste and childless. Poor men can do what they want, and we feel for their feefees when they're forced to pay child support because it's a great injustice, just those bitches having their babbies so they can steal the money from the menz.
Anyway, make up your minds. Having children is THE GREATEST THING EVER or it's a SELFLESS ACT THAT SELFISH NON-BREEDERS DON'T DO BECAUSE THEY'RE SELFISHLY SELFISH.
You can't have both. And you don't have to, because who cares? Do what you want. Have them, don't have them, who gives a shit?
The obsession with the fertility decisions of other people is so weird. Everybody should have kids, except poor women who should be chaste and childless. Poor men can do what they want, and we feel for their feefees when they're forced to pay child support because it's a great injustice, just those bitches having their babbies so they can steal the money from the menz.
Nothing To See Here
And why isn't NASA working on important things, like how to download my immortal soul into a robot, or creating a pleasure colony on Jupiter?
The world’s largest underground aquifers – a source of fresh water for hundreds of millions of people — are being depleted at alarming rates, according to new NASA satellite data that provides the most detailed picture yet of vital water reserves hidden under the Earth’s surface.
Bygones
Sorry for all that stress and the whole thinking your life was ruined thing. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
In late May, about 35 technology employees at Disney/ABC Television in New York and Burbank, Calif., received jarring news. Managers told them that they would all be laid off, and that during their final weeks they would have to train immigrants brought in by an outsourcing company to do their jobs.
The training began, but after a few days it was suspended with no explanation. In New York, the immigrants suddenly stopped coming to the offices. Then on June 11, managers summoned the Disney employees with different news: Their layoffs had been canceled.
It's Always Two Years Away
The "American Dream" is always 4 FU's away. Amost exactly a year ago:
And now:
Heckuva job, Chris Christie. A megamall that will likely never open (and will eat it soon after if it does) is your grandest legacy.
But the project’s developers and state officials say the long-stalled rebirth of the shopping and entertainment attraction remains on target for a fall 2016 opening – and work will be visible at the site soon.
And now:
Part of the financing for an unfinished megamall in East Rutherford took another step forward on Wednesday, as a state finance board approved the borough's plan to sell up to $675 million in bonds for American Dream Meadowlands.
An official with the developer of the project, meanwhile, said the entire complex is expected to open in the summer of 2017.
Heckuva job, Chris Christie. A megamall that will likely never open (and will eat it soon after if it does) is your grandest legacy.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Trans Fats
This is good. A lot of "healthy alternatives" that were pushed on us as alternatives to the disgusting stuff that was a bit more natural (margarine over butter) were probably killing us.
Austin's Traffic Problems Will Be Solved!
Haha just kidding.
Just a few more lanes...That's all we need...
Interstate 35 through the middle of Austin would get an additional free lane in each direction, including adding a lane to each side of the upper decks, as well a toll lane on both sides as part of the Texas Department of Transportation’s $4.3 billion, 10-year plan for the expressway as it passes through three Central Texas counties.
That plan in its revised form, to be unveiled Monday in a speech by state Sen. Kirk Watson to Austin business leaders, includes depressing I-35 about 25 feet below the frontage road level throughout its downtown Austin stretch, from south of Cesar Chavez Street to north of 15th Street.
Just a few more lanes...That's all we need...
Don't Know Nothing
When Washington Consensus policies are put into place, they don't actually have to work. We don't need to look at any data to determine if they worked. We just know that they worked, because they did, because of course they did, because all the Very Serious People say they did.
On Earth 2, where Applebees has a salad bar:
Here on good old regular Earth:
And what about that "sneak into the US stuff" after the glorious NAFTA (1994) economic boom? From Pew:
On Earth 2, where Applebees has a salad bar:
The North American Free Trade Agreement, for example, probably didn’t affect the American economy too much. But the Mexican economy has taken off. With more opportunities, Mexican workers feel less need to sneak into the U.S.
Here on good old regular Earth:
Washington, DC – A new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) finds that 20 years after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) took effect, Mexico’s economic performance has been dismal compared to the rest of the region. The report, “Did NAFTA Help Mexico? An Assessment After 20 Years” examines official data sources to track Mexico’s progress under NAFTA and finds slow growth, stagnant wages, and nothing to show in the way of poverty reduction.
“Of course it’s possible that Mexico could have done even worse without NAFTA, but looking at the data it’s tough to see how,” CEPR Co-Director and lead author of the report Mark Weisbrot said today.
Among the paper’s findings:
- Mexico ranks 18th out of 20 Latin American countries in growth of real GDP per person, the most basic economic measure of living standards.
- From 1960-1980, Mexican GDP per person almost doubled, growing by 98.7 percent. By comparison, in the past 20 years it has grown by just 18.6 percent.
- Mexico’s per capita GDP growth of just 18.6 percent over the past 20 years is about half of the rate of growth achieved by the rest of Latin America.
- If NAFTA had been successful in restoring Mexico’s pre-1980 growth rate – when developmentalist economic policies were the norm – Mexico today would be a relatively high income country, with income per person significantly higher than that of Portugal or Greece. It is unlikely that immigration reform would be a major political issue in the U.S., as relatively few Mexicans would seek to cross the border.
- According to Mexican national statistics, Mexico’s poverty rate of 52.3 percent in 2012 is almost identical to the poverty rate of 1994. Meanwhile, the rest of Latin America saw a drop in poverty that was more than two-and-a-half times as fast as that of Mexico.
- Real (inflation-adjusted) wages for Mexico were almost the same in 2012 as in 1994, up just 2.3 percent in 18 years, and barely above their level of 1980.
- Unemployment in Mexico is 5.0 percent today, as compared to an average of 3.1 percent for 1990-1994 and a low of 2.2 percent in 2000; these numbers seriously understate the true lack of jobs, but they show a significant deterioration in the labor market during the NAFTA years.
And what about that "sneak into the US stuff" after the glorious NAFTA (1994) economic boom? From Pew:
The Kids Today With Their Urban Living And Their Ipods And Their Hippity Hop
It's impossible to dislodge this attitude, even from many people who run the dam city.
Yah, yah, of course some people will move to the suburbs. And some people will move to California. And some more people will move in. I don't know anyone who is planning to move out as soon as they have kids. I know people with kids. All the local playgrounds (and we have a lot) are jammed with them on nice days.
Plenty of "olds" were living here before this latest recognition that people actually live here. Aside from the actual kids growing up on my block, I'm on the younger side of the age distribution.
Target, meanwhile, clearly sees the smaller-store format as a way to initiate contact with those apartment dwellers, many of whom may migrate to its traditional suburban turf as their families grow, Flickinger said.
"It's giving shoppers in high-opportunity markets like Philadelphia a good experience with TargetExpress, which ultimately will translate successfully to the suburban stores over time," he said.
Yah, yah, of course some people will move to the suburbs. And some people will move to California. And some more people will move in. I don't know anyone who is planning to move out as soon as they have kids. I know people with kids. All the local playgrounds (and we have a lot) are jammed with them on nice days.
Plenty of "olds" were living here before this latest recognition that people actually live here. Aside from the actual kids growing up on my block, I'm on the younger side of the age distribution.
Monday, June 15, 2015
biddi-biddi-biddi-biddi
Well hello there little guy.
After a seven-month slumber, a European spacecraft that landed on a speeding comet last fall has awakened from hibernation and phoned home, the European Space Agency said on Sunday.
Don't Nominate A Total Fuckup Like Me
I don't really get this message from Mittens. It seems to be "I would have won if not for you crazy right wing assholes, so let's continue garnering the support of all the people who supported the crazy right wing assholes."
Maybe it's just "Not my fault - love, Mittens."
Maybe it's just "Not my fault - love, Mittens."
The Applebees Salad Bar Is A Flat Circle
Poor BoBo's humility has given him the power to make shit up.
Morning Thread
I'm reading How Policing Works in a Privatized City, the city being Atlanta Station, a small area in the big city of Atlanta. Somehow I'm betting the feeling that things aren't quite as rosy as the author presents.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Assholes With Money
Special rules for special people.
Haha. Bring it!
RANCHO SANTA FE, CALIF. — Drought or no drought, Steve Yuhas resents the idea that it is somehow shameful to be a water hog. If you can pay for it, he argues, you should get your water.
People “should not be forced to live on property with brown lawns, golf on brown courses or apologize for wanting their gardens to be beautiful,” Yuhas fumed recently on social media. “We pay significant property taxes based on where we live,” he added in an interview. “And, no, we’re not all equal when it comes to water.”
Haha. Bring it!
“I call it the war on suburbia,” said Brett Barbre, who lives in the Orange County community of Yorba City, another exceptionally wealthy Zip code.
Barbre sits on the 37-member board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, a huge water wholesaler serving 17 million customers. He is fond of referring to his watering hose with Charlton Heston’s famous quote about guns: “They’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.”
Inland Empire
I lived in Southern California in the early stages of the housing bubble. And while Orange County wasn't my cup of tea, I understood why people liked it (sort of). Nice weather, close to the beach, not too far from the mountains, etc. Fine, worth those big prices. The big mystery to me was the Inland Empire. It wasn't as expensive, but at that time it actually wasn't that much cheaper. I didn't get why people were paying "California prices" to essentially not live in "California." Of course it was California, but it wasn't nice weather, close to the beach California. It was hot and not close to the beach and not very near other amenities. I'm not questioning why people lived there, I'm questioning why it was so damn expensive. It really hasn't recovered from the bust.
Prosperity awaits.
Of the 100 biggest cities in the U.S., San Bernardino, 60 miles east of Los Angeles, was ranked the second-poorest in the nation in the 2010 census, behind Detroit. Two years later it filed for bankruptcy. Last month the City Council approved a 77-page plan that it hopes will move the city toward solvency, in part by making residents pay higher taxes and fees while further cutting their services.
Prosperity awaits.
If Only There Were Some Shovel Ready Projects
Can't find them over here...
Approximately 10-million gallons of water gushed out into the street, sinking cars and flooding homes in the process.
“My basement is flooded,” said one neighbor. “The water is from, when I went down to my basement it was coming up to (my neck).”
Shouldn't They Be Rolling Coal?
I think it's over-acknowledgment of extreme tribalism to be "surprised" that conservative Texans might enjoy a little AC power from wind. Sure that tribalism is real, and some people will roll coal and deep fry their twinkies in actual oil just to stick it to the libturds, but most people don't care. Sure they don't want the UN black helicopters forcing them to turn their thermostats up to 87 degrees in the summer, but otherwise most people don't really care as long as they don't think their bills are going up.
So, Two Tongues Then?
Those things are massive.
A slaughterhouse has recalled 529 pounds of beef tongue sent to retail locations in New York and Pennsylvania.
The products, from Larry's Custom Meats Inc. in Hartwick, N.Y., might have been shipped to the outlets with lingual tonsils still attached, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Friday.
What Could Go Wrong
Really can't think of anything.
RIGA, Latvia — In a significant move to deter possible Russian aggression in Europe, the Pentagon is poised to store battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and other heavy weapons for as many as 5,000 American troops in several Baltic and Eastern European countries, American and allied officials say.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Unsaid
Of course no one would say it, but I'm sure the thing all of his pissed off friends were thinking was "why is this richer than God asshole crashing at my house and not giving us a bunch of cash." Everything's easier with money, and it's annoying when the rich guy won't pay the bills. He isn't obligated to, of course, but you aren't obligated to do his damn laundry either. Drop that shit off at the laundromat at least. You can afford it.
Duh
A lot of the visible drug trade (visible being a key word here - street corner drug deals) happens in urban hellholes, but that doesn't mean it's locals who are doing most of the buying. Because it's visible - because you can find the right street corner and make a deal anonymously instad than having to find a regular seller - it gets all of the attention, but it isn't where all the drugs are and it certainly isn't where all the drugs users are.
The Stupidest Fucking Person On The Face Of The Planet
George Osborne.
George Osborne’s plan to enshrine permanent budget surpluses in law is a political gimmick that ignores “basic economics”, a group of academic economists has warned.
Responding to the chancellor’s Mansion House speech earlier this week, they said a law forcing the government to cut spending or raise taxes every year to generate a budget surplus, characterised as Micawber economics, would suck the economy dry and within a few years could trigger another credit crunch.
Hire A Driver
Yes, it's what I always say, but for people who (presumably) have money, a DUI in a major city just should not happen. I'm somewhat sympathetic to first time barely over the limit offenders of modest means, but if you got the cash just hire someone to drive.
Stamos was pulled over by police at Beverly Drive and South Santa Monica Boulevard about 7:45 p.m. after authorities received many calls of a possible DUI driver near Canon Drive and South Santa Monica Boulevard, said Sgt. David Armour.
Stamos was transported by firefighters to a hospital because of a possible medical condition, but subsequent investigation found that he was driving under the influence, Armour said.
The Happiest Place On Earth
I'm sure people with kids feel the pressure, but I admit to being quite surprised by the number of adults who are thrilled to go all on their own. It isn't that I'm incapable of understanding why it might be enjoyable, it's just that...it's a lot of money, most people don't have much time, and that's what tops the list?
Not judging. People like what they like. Spend your money how you want.
For America’s middle-income vacationers, the Mickey Mouse club, long promoted as “made for you and me,” seems increasingly made for someone else. But far from easing back, the theme-park giant’s prices are expected to climb even more through a surge-pricing system that could value a summer’s day of rides and lines at $125.
“If Walt [Disney] were alive today, he would probably be uncomfortable with the prices they’re charging right now,” said Scott Smith, an assistant professor of hospitality at the University of South Carolina whose first job was as a cast member in Disney’s Haunted Mansion. “They’ve priced middle-class families out.”
Not judging. People like what they like. Spend your money how you want.
Not A Terrorist
Because you know.
Actually given what I know I wouldn't describe him as a terrorist either, but it's the automatic assumption when people of a certain ethnic/religious background commit violent acts.
Police were continuing to negotiate with a man in an armored vehicle after he opened fire on Dallas police headquarters and led dozens of squad cars on a chase that ended in Hutchins.
No injuries had been confirmed, though the gunman told police negotiators that he had been wounded.
The man has identified himself as James Boulware, 50, who has a history of family violence and blames authorities for his losing custody of his son, Dallas police Chief David Brown said.
Actually given what I know I wouldn't describe him as a terrorist either, but it's the automatic assumption when people of a certain ethnic/religious background commit violent acts.
Grift
It's cute how reporters pretend to not understand that the GOP primary is, for most, an audition for wingnut welfare and a Fox gig.
Friday, June 12, 2015
Pop That Popcorn
Don't think I've blogged about this case, but I've been following it..
URBANA — A Champaign County judge today ordered the University of Illinois to release thousands of pages of documents related to its decision to revoke a job offer to controversial Professor Steven Salaita.
Presiding Judge Thomas Difanis said the public interest in knowing whether outside influence was involved in the hiring decision outweighed the university’s claim that producing the documents was “unduly burdensome.”
Friday Crass Commercialism
I've never actually watched it, but all the kids today seem to like the Game of Thrones. 4 seasons! Cheap!
Customizability Is The Enemy
I really don't know when things started to change, but once upon a time you could customize every program in every way. Now many applications don't even let you change the damn font size. Something something "single user experience" something something but I don't know why.
As for Twitter specifically, they made one stupid change years ago which made it much much harder for new users to find new people to follow - and therefore have any clue just what the hell the point of twitters is - and now they wonder why it's hard for new users to find people to follow. For ONE MILLION DOLLARS IN CONSULTING FEES I will tell them what that mistake was. That change, too, could be customizable. It once was. And then it wasn't.
As for Twitter specifically, they made one stupid change years ago which made it much much harder for new users to find new people to follow - and therefore have any clue just what the hell the point of twitters is - and now they wonder why it's hard for new users to find people to follow. For ONE MILLION DOLLARS IN CONSULTING FEES I will tell them what that mistake was. That change, too, could be customizable. It once was. And then it wasn't.
Time To Convene A Blogger Ethics Panel
It's perfectly normal for Bloomberg journalists to give sunrise Pilates instruction to Republican donors.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Thursday Crass Commercialism
My friend wrote a book about medieval robots, called Medieval Robots. Who could resist that? It's pricey, but color pictures!
Design Flaw
What Americans tend to miss is that you can have walkability and pretty big houses. It's the parking requirements, setbacks, minimum lot sizes, single access road neighborhoods, and of course single use zoning, that destroy walkability. You can have walkability and still have a lot of space around you. I honestly don't know why people choose to live like this, the ones who have choices anyway (not all people do of course).
Fortunately, those of us who can't afford Boost will all be living in our cars soon, so it's all good.
The "futurist" being interviewed works for Mercedes-Benz, so, you know.
Q.
So tech changes everything, and nothing changes?
A.
The suburbs aren’t going away, but they are not like the suburbs in the 1950s. Both parents are working more often, and after-school activities aren’t at school anymore. Kids go 20 miles to a soccer coach or a violin teacher. That is a pain point for affluent parents, our customers, people who have more money than time.
The solution is, there will be privately shared vehicles. We have a business called Boost, where minivans drive children after school. They are like school buses, but door to door, and parents can track them with a phone app. They have a concierge as well as a driver, because the driver can’t leave the bus and walk the kid right to the door. A 7-year-old needs that. In this case, we’re selling a mobility service rather than a product.
Mostly, we don’t think people will give up their own cars. Americans like to do everything in the cars. They eat in cars, they drink in cars, they have entertainment in cars and they change clothes in cars — people who leave the office at lunch and sleep in their cars, or wait in their cars for an hour at a time for their children.
Driving is really the distracting thing we do in cars.
Fortunately, those of us who can't afford Boost will all be living in our cars soon, so it's all good.
The "futurist" being interviewed works for Mercedes-Benz, so, you know.
Always A Decade Away
I predict the decade away is the Friedman Unit of autonomous cars.
Amazingly when I ride buses and trains I don't have to do anything at all and get to read the twitters without any concerns about taking another life whatsoever.
That’s the dream. But the path to full automation isn’t likely to be smooth or quick. Although Google recently announced that it would soon begin test-driving self-driving cars, many experts said they believed that fully autonomous cars for the public were at least a decade away.
Amazingly when I ride buses and trains I don't have to do anything at all and get to read the twitters without any concerns about taking another life whatsoever.
But that didn’t mean that I could exactly doze off on the road. The self-driving system, for example, can’t handle sharp turns. Both the car and the company warned me not to see the car’s abilities as permission to distract myself, which is a bit like warning the fox to exercise some self-control around that newfangled self-guarding henhouse. The Mercedes issues an alarm when you’ve taken your hands off the wheel for more than 10 seconds.
Still, the car lulled me: With the S550 making most major decisions, I could safely look at incoming Twitter messages while jammed in bumper-to-bumper traffic. The car even promises to respond to emergency situations, like if it senses that you’re veering off the road into the median, or if the vehicle ahead of you suddenly jams on the brakes.
The World's Worst Humans
George Osborne.
I suppose baseball metaphors aren't appropriate, but he was born 2 inches from home plate and then instead of touching home, he grabbed a bat and started beating the crap out of the bat boys and ball girls.
The Government is looking at making £5bn of its planned £12bn welfare cuts by slashing tax credits for working families, reports suggest.
Around 3.7 million low-income families would lose out on £1,400 a year from the cuts, according to a scenario outlined by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
I suppose baseball metaphors aren't appropriate, but he was born 2 inches from home plate and then instead of touching home, he grabbed a bat and started beating the crap out of the bat boys and ball girls.
Probably Six More Months Will Do It
We've been "training" (supposedly, god knows what the hell has really been going on) the Iraqi army for 13 years now.
Maybe we should go back to painting schools.
WASHINGTON — President Obama’s decision to open a new base for an additional 450 American military trainers and other personnel in Anbar Province in Iraq is designed to give a badly needed lift to the Sunni tribes and Iraqi troops who have been struggling to hold their own against the Islamic State.
Maybe we should go back to painting schools.
Morning Thread
Tim Bousquet, founder of the Halifax Examiner: "You’re either a journalist, or you’re part of the problem." Great essay on the problem with reporting and reporters today. Go read. It applies every bit as much to the U.S. as it does Canada.
Our Lady of the Snakes, Echidne, on the Tim Hunt story: "I love these foot-deep-in-the-throat stories, especially from those people whom the world has coddled and revered to such an extent that they now believe their utterances about everything is of great value. Not just their utterances about the area of their expertise, mind you, but about everything. It's a bit like Echidne criticizing opera singers or explaining to you in excruciating detail how to make a perfect souffle."
I haven't read Digby yet, otherwise you'd probably get a link to her as well.
Our Lady of the Snakes, Echidne, on the Tim Hunt story: "I love these foot-deep-in-the-throat stories, especially from those people whom the world has coddled and revered to such an extent that they now believe their utterances about everything is of great value. Not just their utterances about the area of their expertise, mind you, but about everything. It's a bit like Echidne criticizing opera singers or explaining to you in excruciating detail how to make a perfect souffle."
I haven't read Digby yet, otherwise you'd probably get a link to her as well.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Turnover
I've never understood why the costs associated job turnover which are almost inevitably associated with low wage jobs are basically ignored. It isn't an immutable fact that x% of your employees will need to be replaced every month. x will depend on pay and little things like how you treat them. Random scheduling probably doesn't help. Also, too, there are probably not as many employee five finger discounts if you treat them a bit better.
My guess is that payroll is an easy number to count, while costs of hiring/turnover are more diffuse and not as clearly quantifiable. The bean counters can easily count the former, and it's much more difficult to count the latter. But, ZOMG, maybe there is something to paying people more...
My guess is that payroll is an easy number to count, while costs of hiring/turnover are more diffuse and not as clearly quantifiable. The bean counters can easily count the former, and it's much more difficult to count the latter. But, ZOMG, maybe there is something to paying people more...
"Our job applications are going up and we are seeing some relief in turnover," Wal-Mart's chief executive, Doug McMillon, told a media briefing after the company's annual shareholders' meeting on Friday.
He did not provide details, and Wal-Mart does not disclose figures on turnover.
Two Distinct Groups
On one side we have "minorities" and on the other side we have "police."
Larger intellects might see a problem with this framework.
Larger intellects might see a problem with this framework.
Should Be That Way For Pretty Much Everything?
Hopefully the tide will slowly turn in our juvenile justice system. We can argue about whether 17-year-olds who commit first degree murder should be tried as adults, but generally almost all "crimes" by minors should be treated as behavioral problems requiring quality therapy and rehabilitation. The juvenile justice system should not be punitive, especially as quite often juveniles are victims.
State lawmakers are following up last year's crackdown on human trafficking with plans to make Pennsylvania safer for child victims.
Many children involved in sex work are manipulated or forced into it, advocates say, and shouldn't be treated like criminals. A Senate proposal would prevent prosecution of minors for human trafficking and related offenses.
Sleep Paralysis Sucks
I was never an extreme sufferer, and my experiences were always fairly brief and without aliens, but I do not recommend sleep paralysis. Truly awful experience.
Reappearing Soon At A Police Department Near You
Hopefully not, but that seems to be how these things go.
The Texas police officer at the center of a controversial video that showed him forcefully handcuffing and drawing his gun on a group of black teenagers at a pool party last weekend has resigned, the city’s police chief announced Tuesday.
Tuesday, June 09, 2015
LEAVE GENERAL PETRAEUS ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE
One time, at band camp, he let me carry his saxophone.
They Wanted It
Obviously the "they" who are opposing it aren't necessarily the "they" who wanted it, but the California HSR route goes through the Central Valley in part because those locations didn't want to be left out. Now those locations threaten to, uh, derail the project.
People might have good reasons to oppose. Not faulting them. Faulting those who imagined bringing more stakeholders on board would make it easier.
People might have good reasons to oppose. Not faulting them. Faulting those who imagined bringing more stakeholders on board would make it easier.
One Rock, One Vote
They do miss the good old days.
Of course renters "pay" some portion of property taxes through higher rent so it isn't as if increasing property taxes doesn't impact them. And of course the spending policies attached to those ballot measures affect them as much as anybody.
Later in the show, in response to a caller's comment about who should be eligible to vote on property tax ballot issues, Mickelson suggested that only people who pay property taxes -- i.e., property owners -- should be allowed to do so, which would effectively exclude local citizens who are students or renters.
Of course renters "pay" some portion of property taxes through higher rent so it isn't as if increasing property taxes doesn't impact them. And of course the spending policies attached to those ballot measures affect them as much as anybody.
Shorter Ron Fournier
The only votes that matter for Democrats are the votes of whites males who don't vote for them.
Don't tell anyone Barack Obama got a higher percent of the popular vote in both elections than George Bush ever did. They were the wrong kinds of voters, anyway.
Don't tell anyone Barack Obama got a higher percent of the popular vote in both elections than George Bush ever did. They were the wrong kinds of voters, anyway.
Shorter Rick Hasen
The only legitimate way for Democrats to get anything done is for them to shut the hell up about them and let Republicans do the opposite of what they're doing.
Monday, June 08, 2015
Real Grass Is Too Good For The Wimmin
Not as if we didn't know they were assholes.
The Women’s World Cup got underway over the weekend and while excitement was high after host country Canada’s thrilling win over China in stoppage time, the start of play has renewed frustrations over the controversial decision to force the women to play on artificial turf in all six venues.
After Sunday’s Norway vs. Thailand game, Norway midfielder Lene Mykjåland voiced her discontent about the short, dry turf, which she said made it difficult for either team to “get a decent tempo and rhythm.” The playing surface was watered using two fire hoses instead of the standard sprinkler system.
When the tournament kicked off Saturday, the temperature of the playing surface was reportedly 120 degrees, despite the fact that it was a pleasant 75 degrees that day in Edmonton. That’s because artificial turf, a combination of rubber and plastic, gets a lot hotter than natural grass. Natural grass, on average, stays 20-30 degrees cooler than its artificial counterpart.
Big Guvmint Keynesians
That right economists have pretended for decades that "Keynesianism" is just a synonym for Big Guvmint Liberalism, despite knowing better, and that they managed to get away with it is actually quite impressive. It's mildly true that salt water macroeconomists probably lean a bit more liberal, though they're generally not the mirror image of the right wing cranks that are fresh water macroeconomists, but you don't need to be liberal on any economic issue to think that basic Keynesian analysis and demand management (fiscal and monetary) over the business cycle is the best way to perceive things. Advocating expansionary policies during a downturn, and expansionary fiscal policies in particular when interest rates are at the zero bound, is hardly calling for nationalizing the means of production.
Contracting our way to prosperity is, of course, derp.
Contracting our way to prosperity is, of course, derp.
No Black People In The Pool
The incident closer to me didn't involve police violence, fortunately, but this event:
Reminded me of this one:
White people don't like to swim with black people.
On Friday, a large group of teens gathered for a pool party in the city of McKinney, Texas. Shortly thereafter, someone called the police. And by Sunday night, as footage of the police response spread across the internet, the McKinney Police Department announced it was placing Eric Casebolt, the patrol supervisor shown in the video, on administrative leave.
It is the latest in a string of incidents of police using apparently excessive force against African Americans that has captured public attention. And it took place at a communal pool—where, for more than a century, conflicts over race and class have often surfaced.
The video shows a foul-mouthed police corporal telling the young men he encounters to get down, and the young women to take off, although far more obscenely. When several seated young men appear to ask, politely, for permission to leave, he explodes at them: “Don’t make me fucking run around here with thirty pounds of goddamn gear in the sun because you want to screw around out here.” The corporal was white. The young people he detained were, almost without exception, black.
Reminded me of this one:
The Justice Department announced a settlement agreement Thursday in a Philadelphia-area racial discrimination case dating back to June 2009.
During that summer, Creative Steps Day Camp of Northeast Philadelphia paid The Valley Swim Club in Huntingdon Valley for pool access for summer campers. After their first day of swimming, the camp's money was refunded and campers were told not to return.
Several campers claimed they heard pool members making racial comments while they were at the club.
White people don't like to swim with black people.
Nobody Could Have Predicted
There was never any way that Cameron was going to let the UK leave the EU, the only question was precisely how he was planning to go about having the promised referendum while ensuring that it would fail.
It's Those Damn Overpaid Professors
Better fire them all.
Two presidents and a former president at Pennsylvania State University received a collective $4.1 million in compensation in 2013-14, a report by the Chronicle of Higher Education shows.
Sunday, June 07, 2015
The Great Grift
There's a version of charter schools which is potentially sound. Non-profits with similar oversight and accountability as the rest of the public school system, and no student skimming. And, of course, limits on compensation for administrators. There are good charter schools in Philadelphia. The biggest "foe" of charter schools in the city was actually the co-founder of one. The point is that even she isn't opposed to the concept, just to the implementation which sucks money out of public schools into the hands of grifters and then leaves the public schools holding the bag when the grifters run away.
PIty The Poor
I generally support increasing the pay of elected officials (and civil servants!), but it's usually the wrong people who complain about their poverty...
That says more about who gets elected than the salary.
A Conservative MP who claimed that MPs could not live on £67,000 a year has put his house on the market and is in line to make £9.5m profit.
...
"Two thirds of MPs took a pay cut to enter Parliament, that's the system under which we are operating," he added.
That says more about who gets elected than the salary.
Saturday, June 06, 2015
That's, Um, Really Reckless?
Despite the tremendous numbers of automobile-related deaths in this country, most people just don't take the risks seriously. That would be tolerable if they were just risks that they were taking for themselves, but they're risking killing and maiming others. I know I don't drive much anymore, but I did drive everywhere for many years. I wasn't even a model driver, as I was young and stupid. But I managed to not collect many citations for driving infractions, because unless you get hit by speed traps and similar, you can get away with being a pretty reckless and shitty driver without getting pulled over too often.
I'll never stop being amazed by people who justify their absurd driving habits by arguing that they're "excellent drivers," or people who argue that the "passing lane" is there to allow them to pass every car going the speed limit in the right hand land at 20+ mph over the speed limit because reasons. In any case, if you're getting pulled over this often you're a menace and you're going to kill someone eventually.
I'll never stop being amazed by people who justify their absurd driving habits by arguing that they're "excellent drivers," or people who argue that the "passing lane" is there to allow them to pass every car going the speed limit in the right hand land at 20+ mph over the speed limit because reasons. In any case, if you're getting pulled over this often you're a menace and you're going to kill someone eventually.
Your Liberal Media
Sometimes they pursue these stories, sometimes they don't...
She also said she confronted Mr. Hastert when he unexpectedly came to her brother’s funeral, telling him, “I want you to know that your secret didn’t die here with my brother.”
Ms. Burdge said she tried for years to get news organizations, including ABC News, and advocacy groups to pursue the story. She began in 2006 after it was revealed that Mr. Hastert had covered up claims that Representative Mark Foley, a Florida Republican, had sent sexually explicit emails to congressional pages.
She said she had given up on exposing Mr. Hastert. Then, two weeks ago, just before Mr. Hastert was indicted, she was contacted by the F.B.I.
America's Worst Corporation
LiveNation.
This is the result, he says, of Live Nation's decision to hire its staff through a subcontractor named Crew One Productions, which provides stagehands and other technical personnel for entertainment venues in Atlanta and across the Southeast. Crew One can provide low-cost labor because it classifies those workers as independent contractors, not employees. Indeed, while Crew One deploys hundreds of stagehands, it claims to have only 12 employees in its five offices.
The Crew One stagehands are not subject to the contracts Live Nation has signed with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or IATSE, for shows in which Live Nation is the direct employer. Union scale for stagehands in Atlanta runs from $18 to $26 an hour; employers also are required to contribute to IATSE's retirement and health insurance funds. (In Los Angeles, union rates are higher: At Staples Center, for instance, staffers earn a minimum of about $32 an hour.)
Nobody Could Have Predicted
I think we all assumed this would be an extremely well-run and efficient grift organization.
The presidential candidacy of Ben Carson, a tea party star who has catapulted into the top tier of Republican contenders, has been rocked by turmoil with the departures of four senior campaign officials and widespread disarray among his allied super PACs.
In interviews Friday, Carson’s associates described a political network in tumult, saying the retired neurosurgeon’s campaign chairman, national finance chairman, deputy campaign manager and general counsel have resigned since Carson formally launched his bid last month in Detroit. They have not been replaced, campaign aides said.
At Least Know We're Free
Fuck yah.
Torture, at "best," is for getting someone to say what you want them to say. Of course when we do it, it's just "enhanced interrogation" which is so totes different.
Soon after his capture, Mr. Khan said, interrogators waterboarded him twice, a contention that contradicts the Central Intelligence Agency’s claim that it had already named all detainees who were subjected to that practice. (The C.I.A. has denied that Mr. Khan was waterboarded.) As he was moved among a series of C.I.A.-operated “black sites” over the following months, Mr. Khan told his lawyers, the torture continued. He was beaten repeatedly. He was hung naked from a wooden beam for three days, shackled and starved. He was taken down once during that time to be submerged in an ice bath. Interrogators pushed his head under the water until he thought he would drown. He received what he called “violent enemas,” and was anally assaulted in a process the interrogators called “rectal feeding.”
Torture, at "best," is for getting someone to say what you want them to say. Of course when we do it, it's just "enhanced interrogation" which is so totes different.
Morning Thread
Tim Bousquet over at the Halifax Examiner, has great story up on reporting via press releases.
Friday, June 05, 2015
I Drink Your Milkshake
Water wars.
It turns out, though, that some people are bothered — very bothered — and are growing hostile. That’s because the drilling has serious side effects. Rampant drilling causes underground water levels to fall. When shallow farm and domestic wells that serve residences dry up, the underground bounty goes to those who can afford to dig deeper.
When it comes to drilling for water, there are few rules and no boundaries. Generally, farmers who follow a set of modest regulations can drill on their own land.
Smarter Faster Rail
Add third and fourth tracks. Straighten curves. Fix bridges. It isn't necessarily super cheap, and it isn't as sexy as monorail MagLev, but it's a much cheaper way to increase average speeds, which is much more important than increasing top speeds. Your standard NE regional rail Amtrak train can travel 90 MPH easy, where track conditions allow it.
If there were some sudden national commitment to build a MagLev network, I'd be all for it (I'm not sure it'd be the best way to go about building high speed rail, but I'll take nice things where I can get them), but that's not going to happen any time soon. $10 billion for 40 miles between Baltimore and DC would be the boondoggle that would ensure it would never happen, and the current Maryland governor certainly isn't the guy to make it happen anyway.
If traffic is smooth on Interstate 95, driving is the quickest way to get from Richmond to Washington — even faster than taking the train, which can take up to 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Virginia transportation officials say they want to cut that train ride to 90 minutes, make passenger train travel more reliable and attractive to travelers in the corridor, and increase capacity.
If there were some sudden national commitment to build a MagLev network, I'd be all for it (I'm not sure it'd be the best way to go about building high speed rail, but I'll take nice things where I can get them), but that's not going to happen any time soon. $10 billion for 40 miles between Baltimore and DC would be the boondoggle that would ensure it would never happen, and the current Maryland governor certainly isn't the guy to make it happen anyway.
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