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People per Doctor

» Oh, wow: A map of people per doctor. (via br) / (2) Comments  / [ 11/05/07 ]

The Economic Nightmare of Halloween

» Bloomburg: The Economic Nightmare of Halloween

The first law of economics would be that lump-sum transfers are more economically efficient than in-kind transfers. If you are going to give a gift to somebody, you should just give them the money. They will be a better judge of the best way to spend it. If instead, you give them a specific good, then you make them worse off, unless you somehow miraculously anticipate what the recipient would purchase if he received the money instead... Halloween is no time for thoughtful, targeted gift-giving. At Halloween, each house on a typical American block picks out one type of candy, and they give that exact same candy willy-nilly to everyone who shows up at the door. It's an economic nightmare.

(via WSJ Economics Blog) / (0) Comments  / [ 10/31/07 ]

On the popularity of the supply-side orthodoxy

» New Yorker: James Surowiecki why the orthodoxy of supply-side economics remains so popular in the Republican party, despite clear evidence that tax cuts—surprise—shrink government revenue.

Saying today that tax cuts will increase tax revenues is not like saying that bombing Iran constitutes a sensible foreign policy, or that education vouchers will wreck the public schools. It's more like saying that the best way to treat sick people is to bleed them to let out the evil spirits.
[But] the absurd idea that tax cuts pay for themselves is based on an idea that is not at all absurd, which is that tax rates can have an impact on people's behavior.

I've never bought the idea that wealthy people will just refuse to make more money if they are taxed too heavily. When's the last time you saw a movie star—or a hedge fund manager—refuse cash so that they can be taxed at a lower rate? That's senseless.

And let's be clear that the very rich are making much of their money from investments, not from work. People may change their investment strategies to maximize profits, but that's not the same as choosing not to create wealth (ie - "value for society") because they won't be able to keep enough of it. / (0) Comments  / [ 10/23/07 ]

Man uses pig-latin to organize his gang

» Comedy Gold: A 29-year-old man in Sydney, Australia was taped using a code language to organize his buddies into "reprisal gangs" the day after rioting.

"Ring up a few boys - bring 'ankshays' and 'atbays'," he is recorded as saying. [...]
The police statement explains that Pig Latin moves the first consonantal sound of a word to its end and then adding "ay", turning "shanks" into "ankshays" and "bats" into "atbays."

(via sos) / (1) Comments  / [ 08/23/07 ]

Did Bush Just Repeal the Fifth Amendment?

» Did Bush Repeal the Fifth Amendment?

Although the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees that "No person shall ... be deprived of ... property, without due process of law," on July 17 President Bush issued an executive order authorizing the Treasury department to seize any and all property belonging to individuals who "pose a significant risk" of committing violent acts that undermine the "peace or stability" of Iraq. The action does not require congressional approval.

This out of control administration. / (2) Comments  / [ 08/07/07 ]

How Do You Escape From a Sinking Car?

» How Do You Escape From a Sinking Car? Mainly you have to keep your head and remember just a few things. Read it, learn it, live it. / (3) Comments  / [ 08/03/07 ]

How the US press got it wrong - for the last 7 years

» Brad DeLong asks the question I've been asking for the last 8 years: What the hell has the US press been doing during the Bush presidency? As I've said here before, I really think the press has played a significant role in contributing to the mess we're in, by their consistent (and lazy) under-reporting of world and national events. Maybe nothing would be different today if they had done their jobs, but at least we would have been clear about what was happening as it transpired.

And as Brad very rightly points out, even now the press really is making excuses more than it's taking responsibility. / (2) Comments  / [ 05/08/07 ]

The History of the Minimum Wage: Graphs

» Oregon State University: The History of the US Minimum Wage, in graphs. Very interesting. (via dm) / (0) Comments  / [ 05/07/07 ]

Tornado damage in Greensburg Kansas

» Good God. Have you seen the aerial photographs of Greensburg, Kansas following the tornados there? Unbelievable. The accompanying story is grim: Greensburg is gone; its future, unknown.

The wind that took Greensburg away came in a wedge tornado nearly a mile and a half wide. Ninety-five percent of Greensburg took off with it.
Greensburg has at least eight dead so far. A ninth person was killed in Stafford County. As is usual when a wedge tornado rolls through wooden dwellings, some of the dead were found some distance from the torn foundations of their homes. [...]
Some townspeople survived by huddling in bathtubs, or in cold convenience store coolers, or by lying flat on the floorboards of their cars, or by crouching in musty-smelling basements. One survivor, Julie Harshey, hung on to her doorknob as the wind took her off her feet; she watched dishes fly out of her cupboards.

The American Red Cross is on the scene. You can donate to their National Disaster Relief Fund online or by mailing a check to American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. (via br)

Update: A reader asks: "Do you know of anyone who is collecting used clothing for the people of Greensburg?" If you know the answer, please leave the information in comments. Thanks. / (14) Comments  / [ 05/06/07 ]

Leisure Time Inequality

» An economic mystery: Why do the poor seem to have more free time than the rich? Scroll down to Monday, Mar. 12, 2007 on this page for a series of rebuttals.  [ 04/30/07 ]

Google Earth is mapping Darfur atrocities

» Google Earth has teamed with the US Holocaust Museum to map the atrocities in Darfur. Now what? What if you created a transparent society, but nobody cared? Take a look at the project yourself, and please, please care. Email your Congressional representative with this link, or call and demand that the US take action. "When it comes to responding to genocide, the world's record is terrible. We hope this important initiative with Google will make it that much harder for the world to ignore those who need us the most." Sara Bloomfield, director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. / (1) Comments  / [ 04/12/07 ]

Fire Don Imus

» I'm always surprised when a celebrity makes a racist slur of some kind and then apologizes in the face of all the outrage. Seriously. I don't know a single person who would use the language Don Imus did, or go on an anti-Semitic bender when they are drunk. It's not that I'm carefully selecting my acquaintances. I simply don't know people who talk that way.

And it's not that I live on the liberal West Coast, either. I grew up in a conservative home in the Midwest, and respect was one of our family values, as it was for the families who lived around us. No one I knew growing up, children or adults, talked that way. I would have been in huge trouble if I'd ever used a racial epithet.

So the controversy surrounding Imus puzzles me. He's too old to have his mouth washed out with soap. Fire him. / (9) Comments  / [ 04/10/07 ]

The Overton Window

» I had never heard of the Overton Window, but I'm glad Rafe pointed me to this:

For a lot of reasons, not all of them bad, most people don’t like feeling like they’re disconnecting themselves from the majority of their fellow human beings... [F]or most people, being perceived as an eccentric outlier is something to be feared. This isn’t fundamentally because most people are corrupt, it’s fundamentally because most people are social animals, and feeling connected with the pack is critical to our sense of well-being. This is why “moving the goalposts” works, even when those doing so barely bother to conceal it.

This particular discussion focuses on politics (and that's important) but this is one of those ideas that will resonate in every aspect of your life: at work, when dealing with your kids, affecting social change, and so on. Read the whole thing. (via rc3)

Update: It dawned on me a few minutes ago when reading the Wikipedia entry that the Overton Window is related to my usual argument in favor of certain radical groups: they open up an avenue for discussion and consideration. People may reject PETA's premise, for example, that animals should never be used in testing of any kind. But in doing so, those same people may decide that—while medical testing on animals is acceptable—certain forms of testing on animals in the manufacture of cosmetics should be eliminated.

Come to think of it, I suppose this is the purpose Ann Coulter serves for the far right. She's so very extreme that almost anyone else appears to be reasonable by comparison. See? I told you this was an idea that kept on giving.

Update: Jason Kottke links to a good introduction to the Overton Window by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy:

A politician’s success or failure stems from how well they understand and amplify the ideas and ideals held by those who elected them. [...] Therefore, they will almost always constrain themselves to taking actions within the "window" of ideas approved of by the electorate. Actions outside of this window, while theoretically possible, and maybe more optimal in terms of sound policy, are politically unsuccessful.
[...] So, if a think tank’s research and the principles of sound policy suggest a particular idea that lies outside the Overton window, what is to be done? Shift the window.

 / (5) Comments  / [ 04/05/07 ]

Sub-Prime mortgages are starting to fold

»  Mortgage crisis overwhelming credit counselors. "We knew it was going to be bad, but we didn't think it would be this bad. [...] All the predatory lending that has gone on, all of the pushing of exotic loans on people of color, female-headed households, families with children, people with disabilities -- it's all coming home to roost." Kaye Britton, a foreclosure counselor. / (3) Comments  / [ 03/23/07 ]

Is torture really better than death?

» Dahlia Lithwick argues that the Bush administration has taken a seemingly reasonable line of argument and applied it in such a way that —by their reasoning—they have the power to do pretty much anything they want. "Look, death is worse than torture, but everyone except pacifists thinks there are circumstances in which war is justified. War means killing people. If we are entitled to kill people, we must be entitled to injure them." John Yoo, former legal counsel to the Bush administration and professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. / (3) Comments  / [ 03/22/07 ]

Hillary 1984

» A Hillary Clinton/1984 Apple Super Bowl ad mashup is on YouTube—but no one knows where it came from. ["Hillary 1984" represents] "a new era, a new wave of politics ... because it's not about Obama. It's about the end of the broadcast era." Peter Leyden, director of the New Politics Institute. / (2) Comments  / [ 03/19/07 ]

Which microlender makes the best use of my $20?

» Slate: Which microlender makes the best use of my $20? is a good rundown of the strengths and weaknesses of 6 microloan charities. In November, Cool Tools founder Kevin Kelly offered his own rundown of microlenders.  [ 03/15/07 ]

Why does daylight saving time save energy?

» Slate Explainer: Why does daylight saving time save energy? Remember to spring forward on Sunday!

A grammar note: According to Webexhibits.org, it is Daylight Saving Time, not Daylight SavingS Time. That is all. / (2) Comments  / [ 03/09/07 ]

Never Forget

» Never Forget. (via sos) / (1) Comments  / [ 03/09/07 ]

The old 'role-playing ate my brain' defense

» So awesome: A man accused of a stealing underwear from a shop in a knifepoint raid believed he was a female elf at the time, Belfast Crown Court has heard. Dear Judge: throw the book at him. Even elves are required to abide by the law. (via br) / (1) Comments  / [ 03/08/07 ]

Tohono Nation Indians help the US track drug smugglers across the desert

» How is the US Drug Enforcement Agency battling drug smugglers in the Arizona desert? By enlisting the Shadow Wolves, a Native American tracking unit.  [ 03/07/07 ]

Is the US geographically unable to perceive global warming?

» Is the US geographically unable to perceive global warming?  [ 03/02/07 ]

How professional writers and political hacks changed blogging for the worse

» In light of the recent resignation of the Edwards bloggers, Garret Vreeland offers a thoughtful perspective on the culture of blogging—both what it was and what has changed as partisans (for whom making a point matters more than being fair) and professional writers (for whom editing is writing) enter the stage. A good read, highly recommended.

A side comment: What are politicians to do? Thoughtful, evenhanded analysis simply doesn't drive traffic as effectively as outrageously stated opinions. It's unlikely that political campaigns will even be able to identify the bloggers who can provide them with good thinking, good writing, and comparatively inoffensive archives, since their more strident brethren will be the ones at the top of everyone's blogrolls.

Some of these standards will inevitably change. Too many people are living online now, and that means a paper trail. No one is always at their best. At the same time, I hope it will start to dawn on some of the newcomers that they are publishing, and lead them to moderate accordingly.

A second comment: Hiring these particular bloggers was the equivalent of hiring Molly Ivins to write for your campaign—except without her years of experience, and without the filter of the editors who taught her how to moderate even brash opinions to appeal to the broadest possible audience. You might have loved Molly Ivin's writing, but she was at her best speaking truth to power, not speaking on behalf of the powerful. / (3) Comments  / [ 02/19/07 ]

Reaping what the political blogosphere has sown

» Wow, does Reid get this right.

It's your right to express your political opinions in the harshest manner you can muster, dump ad hominem all over your opponents, and cuss at will. It's your blog, and your right to try and make a difference with how ever many read it in whatever way you please.
This is the price. When you can really make a difference, it will come back to bite you....

Update: Rafe weighs in: Your permanent record. / (2) Comments  / [ 02/14/07 ]

How to fix campaign finance forever, for $50

» How to fix campaign finance forever, for $50: the secret donation booth.  [ 02/05/07 ]

In Praise of Security Theatre

» Bruce Schneier: In Praise of Security Theatre.  [ 01/25/07 ]

What happened to the cruise ship passengers that disappeared in transit?

» It sounds like the title of an Agatha Christie mystery, but this is no joke: Death on the high seas.

Last year the cruise industry reported that 24 passengers had disappeared between 2003 and last March. The information emerged after a US Congressional subcommittee found itself with an unlikely task: to examine the threat posed to citizens by booking a cruise holiday. Since then, at least 10 more passengers and two crew have been reported missing or overboard, including one Scottish pensioner lost in the Atlantic last November. These figures do not include known suicides and those who, for one or reason or another - a drunken argument, perhaps, or misplaced bravado - are known to have deliberately jumped. Of those who have gone mysteriously missing, some may have killed themselves; other incidents may be alcohol-related mishaps; but in at least one case, the death of a 52-year-old woman on the Island Escape in Italy, something more sinister may have gone on.

 / (2) Comments  / [ 01/18/07 ]

When is your personal MLK Day?

» When is your personal Martin Luther King Day?

February 14 this year is my "personal MLK day." That is the holiday I dreamed up on which a person has lived 14324 days so far, the number of days that King lived in total. The personal MLK day may be used as a time of reflection on what you have accomplished and want to accomplish.

 / (2) Comments  / [ 01/17/07 ]

Why the American people no longer support the war in Iraq

» Streets running in blood—it's biblical in scale. This is why the American people no longer support the war in Iraq. It has nothing, I'm sad to say, to do with principle.

And poor CNN. The header on this story is "Iraq: Transition of Power". They were so, so with the program when it all began, and now they're stuck with this lamentable endorsement of Administration spin, while events spin completely out of control on the ground. At what point will the editors decide it's time to change the title of this particular "Special Report"? / (5) Comments  / [ 01/16/07 ]

What George W. Bush could learn from Steve Jobs

» What George W. Bush could learn from Steve Jobs. (via rc3oi) / (2) Comments  / [ 01/10/07 ]

My hero

» The word gets bandied around a lot, but this, in my opinion, is a hero. / (2) Comments  / [ 01/03/07 ]

The Bill of Wrongs

» Dalia Lithwick: The 10 most outrageous civil liberties violations of 2006. What will our children think when they look back on our complacency during this time? / (3) Comments  / [ 01/02/07 ]

Humana's Bait and Switch

» This is terrible: "The more than two million senior citizens nationwide who signed up last year for Humana Inc.'s least expensive Medicare prescription drug plan face average premium increases of 60 percent -- and in seven states, increases of 466 percent -- starting tomorrow . The higher prices will affect about 50,000 seniors in Massachusetts, where premiums are going up by 130 percent, from $7.32 to $16.90 a month. [...] 'You have to state the obvious,' said David Shove , a stock analyst with Prudential Equity Group in New York. 'You sell something cheaply and get a lot of customers, and then you raise the price to improve the profitability.'" / (2) Comments  / [ 12/31/06 ]

Under Dems, House will work 5-day-weeks during 2007

» The horror! In the coming session, Congress will be scheduled to work 5 days a week; if you count 6:30pm Monday to 2pm Friday as "5 days".

By the time the gavel comes down on the 109th Congress on Friday, members will have worked a total of 103 days. That's seven days fewer than the infamous "Do-Nothing Congress" of 1948.
Hoyer said members can bid farewell to extended holidays, the kind that awarded them six weekdays to relax around Memorial Day, when most Americans get a single day off. He didn't mention the month-long August recess, the two-week April recess or the weeks off in February, March and July.

And, predictably:

"Keeping us up here eats away at families," said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), who typically flies home on Thursdays and returns to Washington on Tuesdays. "Marriages suffer. The Democrats could care less about families -- that's what this says."

 / (6) Comments  / [ 12/06/06 ]

Godwin's Law, temporarily revoked

» The N-Word: Unmentionable lessons of the midterm aftermath.

The relevance of Third Reich Germany to today's America is not that Bush equals Hitler or that the United States government is a death machine. It's that it provides a rather spectacular example of the insidious process by which decent people come to regard the unthinkable as not only thinkable but doable, justifiable. Of the way freethinkers and speakers become compliant and self-censoring. Of the mechanism by which moral or humanistic categories are converted into bureaucratic ones. And finally, of the willingness with which we hand control over to the state and convince ourselves that we are the masters of our destiny.

Then there's this:

The Bush-era fourth estate has come up short not only against the Big Lie of "fair and balanced" news but also against its equally cunning cousin: the Small Inaccuracy used to repudiate the damaging larger truth. CBS crumbled under the administration's mau-mauers over Memogate, while Newsweek managed to withstand the hazing it took for its Koran-in-the-toilet item—which, like the substance of Dan Rather's offending report on Bush's National Guard career, was not only accurate; it was old news. But why didn't the national media go on the offensive and re-educate the government, and the public, about the inevitable if regrettable price of a free press? Mistakes will be made in the proverbial first draft of history, and holding reporters to a standard of perfection would inhibit them from performing the vigilance crucial to our democratic system.

It is the part played by the press in all this that may frustrate and infuriate me the most. I have been dismayed for the last 5 years as they basically have refused to do their job. And I hold them partially responsible for the state we're now in. (Thanks, jjg!) / (3) Comments  / [ 11/30/06 ]

Ben Stein on taxation, the deficit, and class warfare

» Ben Stein: In Class Warfare, Guess Which Class Is Winning? (via jko) / (1) Comments  / [ 11/29/06 ]

Presidential Tag Clouds

» Chirag Mehta has a created a Presidential Speech tag cloud that allows you to see the frequency of word use in speeches, official documents, declarations, and letters written by the Presidents of the US from George Washington to George W. Bush. Move the slider to watch President Bush's language change from the start of his administration until now. The rise of the word "terrorism" dates - not from the time of the September 11 attacks - but to 2003, the year we invaded Iraq. In his 2002 State of the Union address, the largest word is "freedom" (followed by "afghanistan", "weapons", and "tax"). In 2003, "terrorists" is huge, followed by "weapons" in the second tier ( then "saddam", "hussein", "iraq", and "economy"). / (1) Comments  / [ 11/13/06 ]

Nancy Pelosi's First 100 Hours

» Nancy Pelosi's first 100 Hours.

Day One: Put new rules in place to "break the link between lobbyists and legislation."
Day Two: Enact all the recommendations made by the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Time remaining until 100 hours: Raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, maybe in one step. Cut the interest rate on student loans in half. Allow the government to negotiate directly with the pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices for Medicare patients.
Broaden the types of stem cell research allowed with federal funds &mdash "I hope with a veto-proof majority," she added in an Associated Press interview Thursday.
All the days after that: "Pay as you go," meaning no increasing the deficit, whether the issue is middle class tax relief, health care or some other priority.
To do that, she said, Bush-era tax cuts would have to be rolled back for those above "a certain level." She mentioned annual incomes of $250,000 or $300,000 a year and higher, and said tax rates for those individuals might revert to those of the Clinton era. [...] "We believe in the marketplace," Pelosi said of Democrats, then drew a contrast with Republicans. "They have only rewarded wealth, not work."

I'm all for it. Let's see if she can do it.

 / (2) Comments  / [ 11/08/06 ]

Report voting problems here

» Via Q Daily News: "One public service announcement: if you have any problems voting (electronic voting machines that malfunction, officials that wrongly prevent you from casting a ballot, whatever), the National Campaign for Fair Elections has set up a toll-free hotline, 866-OUR-VOTE. The group has monitors and attorneys on-hand to help deal with problems as they arise, so it's probably worth giving them a call with any issues." Please post this on your blog and pass it on. / (1) Comments  / [ 11/07/06 ]

November 7, 2006: Vote!

» Today's the day: Vote!  [ 11/07/06 ]

Vanity Fair: Neo Culpa

» This is a really interesting observation: Ask yourself who the most powerful people in the White House are. They are women who are in love with the president: Laura [Bush], Condi, Harriet Miers, and Karen Hughes. Michael Ledeen, American Enterprise Institute [wikipedia] freedom scholar.

Update: When I say "interesting" I mean "What a strange thing to say". If it's true, what does that say about the Administration? If it's not true, just what is Mr. Ledeen implying?  / (1) Comments  / [ 11/07/06 ]

The Difference Two Years Makes

» The Difference Two Years Makes. Be sure to vote tomorrow.  [ 11/06/06 ]

Big Oil Battles Alternative Energy Tax

» Taxing the oil companies to fund alternative energy research? That's what California's Proposition 87 would do, and the oil companies are threatening higher gas prices if it passes—even though the initiative stipulates that the tax can't be passed on to consumers. / (3) Comments  / [ 10/26/06 ]

Jet Blue: Yikes

» Last year, Jet Blue ignored FAA regulations in a "pilot fatigue test" designed to see if their pilots could maintain alertness while working longer-than-allowed shifts. What an idiotic move. Even if test results show that pilots can safely work more hours—even if FAA regulations change as a result of Jet Blue's testing—what I'm going to remember is that Jet Blue is willing to do safety experiments on unsuspecting, paying customers. (via rc3oi)  [ 10/25/06 ]

Ethics Lesson

» Compare and contrast: "On advice of counsel, [Democrat and Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid] said, he gave the Ritz-Carlton Christmas fund $600 in 2002, $1,200 in 2004 and $1,500 in 2005 from his reelection campaign. Federal election law bars candidates from using political donations for personal use. Reid said he did no such thing but will reimburse his campaign "to prevent this issue from being used in the current campaign season to deflect attention from Republican failures."

Warren Buffet to his top managers, regarding ethical behavior: "Let's start with what is legal, but always go on to what we would feel comfortable about being printed on the front page of our local paper."  [ 10/17/06 ]

A trial to rival Jarndyce vs Jarndyce

» The NYTimes recently ran this article on a trial that seems determined to rival Jarndyce vs Jarndyce.

They were charged with murder in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, where the clocks sometimes seem to serve a decorative function. [...] Lawyers have asked to seal the case; invoked the Federal and State Constitutions; alluded to Roe v. Wade, Brown v. Board of Education and Plessy v. Ferguson; asked for joint trials; asked for separate trials; asked for psychological tests; asked to withhold the results of those tests; and then asked for new psychologists. [...]
Justice, when it arrives, comes by famously slow means, and the Brooklyn courts offer no special chariot. And defense lawyers often stall as a tactic, knowing that witnesses can disappear or forget details, and that the passage of time, in general, is bad for prosecutors. But the case of People v. Nixzaliz Santiago, through a series of redundant arguments and colorful court filings, has elevated inaction to something approaching spectacle, on display every few weeks with no end in sight.

  [ 10/05/06 ]

We live in shameful times

» The New York Times lays it on the line:

Here’s what happens when this irresponsible Congress railroads a profoundly important bill to serve the mindless politics of a midterm election: The Bush administration uses Republicans’ fear of losing their majority to push through ghastly ideas about antiterrorism that will make American troops less safe and do lasting damage to our 217-year-old nation of laws — while actually doing nothing to protect the nation from terrorists. Democrats betray their principles to avoid last-minute attack ads. Our democracy is the big loser.

Update: Dahlia Lithwick weighs in:

Last time Congress rubber-stamped a major terrorism-related law no one had bothered to read in the first place, we got the Patriot Act. [...] But that's not all. Congress doesn't want to know what it's bargaining away this week. In the Boston Globe this weekend, Rick Klein revealed that only "10 percent of the members of Congress have been told which interrogation techniques have been used in the past, and none of them know which ones would be permissible under proposed changes to the War Crimes Act." More troubling still, this congressional ignorance seems to be by choice. Klein quotes Sen. Jeff Sessions, the Alabama Republican, as saying, "I don't know what the CIA has been doing, nor should I know."

Update: Rafe weighs in, and points to a piece from former Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky that eloquently lays out the personal, practical, and moral implications of sanctioning even occasional "cruel, inhumane or degrading" treatment of prisoners.

Remember when the Abu Ghraib photos shocked all of us? The story then was that a few inexperienced/rogue soldiers got away from themselves, acted on their own, that it was a complete and utter anomaly. In the last few weeks, the pro-Administration stance has been that such treatment is sometimes necessary, and that humiliation, for example, isn't that big of a deal anyway. (Read Jeff's contributions to this thread to see what I mean.)

And we have just concluded a national debate about whether we need to uphold the Geneva Conventions by codifying the President's right to authorize these very practices.

We have lost the war on torture. It's devastating. / (2) Comments  / [ 09/28/06 ]

Pandering to the American public

» Its common practice for world editions of the same publication to run covers that correspond with local interests. So why is Newsweek doling out bad news to everyone in the whole wide world—but us? (via rc3) / (1) Comments  / [ 09/26/06 ]

Crackdown on illegal immigrants leads to a shortage of farm workers

» What do you know? The crackdown on illegal immigration has led to a shortage of produce pickers this year.

The tightening of the border with Mexico, begun more than a decade ago but reinforced since May with the deployment of 6,000 National Guard troops, has forced California growers to acknowledge that most of their workers are illegal Mexican migrants. The U.F.W. estimates that more than 90 percent of the state’s farm workers are illegal.

  [ 09/25/06 ]

E. coli is the result of modern farming practices

» More on E. coli on spinach and in the digestive tracts of cattle.

But the villain in this outbreak, E. coli O157:H7, is far scarier, at least for humans. Your stomach juices are not strong enough to kill this acid-loving bacterium, which is why it’s more likely than other members of the E. coli family to produce abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever and, in rare cases, fatal kidney failure.
It’s not found in the intestinal tracts of cattle raised on their natural diet of grass, hay and other fibrous forage. No, O157 thrives in a new — that is, recent in the history of animal diets — biological niche: the unnaturally acidic stomachs of beef and dairy cattle fed on grain, the typical ration on most industrial farms.

thanks, MollyMagnet!  [ 09/25/06 ]

Two farmers talk about organic spinach growing and harvesting

» Andy Griffin, the former owner of Riverside Farms, one of the spinach growers implicated in the recent E.coli breakout, has written a very informative post on spinach harvesting and why he got out of the baby greens business. (via mn)

Every sealed bag of pre-washed greens is like a little green house. The greens inside are still alive, as are the bacteria living on them. If the produce in the bag is clean, great, but if it isn’t the bacteria present has a wonderful little sealed environment to reproduce in, free from any threat until the dressing splashes down and the shadow of a fork passes over. Frankly, I think convenience is overrated.

And my most recent CSA newsletter has a bit to say about organic spinach growing practices.

Many media outlets, and so-called experts, have failed to understand the details of this event. [...] [T]hey have tried to make a connection between organic produce and animal manure, a potential source of E.coli. Fact: It is a violation of federal law, the National Organic Standards Act, to use raw animal manures on a crop that will be harvested within 120 days of application of the manure. No organic farmers are using raw animal manures on their spinach fields anymore, if they ever did. It  is far more likely that a conventional farmer would use raw manures —there are no regulations prohibiting the practice for anyone other than organic farmers. The FDA never insinuated this connection; they are intimately familiar with the organics law.

 / (2) Comments  / [ 09/22/06 ]

A Simple Test on the Practicality and Morality of Torture

» Rafe poses a simple test on the practicality and morality of torture. And as usual, he's right. Update: And here's a short statement condemning the practice, "Torture is a moral issue" from the National Council of Churches. It absolutely is. Signatories include former President Jimmy Carter, Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel, and Purpose Driven Life Pastor Rick Warren. It's time the faith community spoke up about this. / (2) Comments  / [ 09/21/06 ]

Spinach Substitutes

» NY Magazine: Spinach Substitutes. (via rw)  [ 09/20/06 ]

Race + Income + Location = Lifespan

» Race, income, and location all have profound effects on your health and lifespan according to a new fascinating study from the Harvard School of Public Health concludes "the differences are so stark it's as if there are eight separate Americas instead of one".

The longest-living whites weren't the relatively wealthy. [...] They're edged out, by a year, by low-income residents of the rural Northern Plains states, where the men tend to reach age 76 and the women 82. Yet low-income whites in Appalachia and the Mississippi Valley die four years sooner than their Northern neighbors.

Here is the editor's summary and the original paper itself (which is, by the way, freely available to be read and distributed by the public.)  [ 09/19/06 ]

Bluegills detect toxins in city water supplies

» San Francisco, New York, and Washington have installed the "Intelligent Aquatic BioMonitoring System" developed for the Army to detect toxins in the water supply before it can reach the populace. It's most sophisticated sensor? Bluegills. / (2) Comments  / [ 09/19/06 ]

Renew your passport now

» As a personal security measure, Bruce Schneier says its time to renew your passport before they start inserting RFID chips in all of them. He figures the security issues will be mostly worked out by the time you need a new one again, in 10 years.  / (1) Comments  / [ 09/19/06 ]

Pete and Condi, sitting in a tree...

» The diplomacy circuit is kind of dry. So, when an attractive, accomplished Secretary of State seems to enjoy her time with an a foreign minister who is "the closest thing to eye candy on the diplomatic circuit", it's easy to see why reporters would start asking speculative and wishful questions about their relationship. "It was a well lighted dinner, with electricity-based lighting." Sean McCormack, US State Department spokesman, in response to persistent questions about a working dinner that included the Secretary of State, the Canadian Foreign Minister, 14 aides and 6 security guards.  [ 09/14/06 ]

Expert says militant Islamacists are more like a cult than an organized enemy

» "I spent the hours before Bush's speech moderating a discussion of the meaning of Sept. 11, which was hosted by the World Affairs Council here. One of the panelists was Marc Sageman, a man who comes to these issues with an unusual background -- he was a CIA case officer in Pakistan and then became a psychiatrist. I found in his comments a similarly unusual clarity. Sageman argues...that we are facing something closer to a cult network than an organized global adversary." (via rc3oi)  [ 09/14/06 ]

You Did What You Could

» Nearly 5 years ago, my niece's 2nd grade class made cards to send to the NYC firefighters who had worked so hard to save people at the World Trade Center after the attacks. Of course hers made me cry. Today it made me cry again. / (3) Comments  / [ 09/11/06 ]

9/11 Conspiracists and Why they Believe

» Time: Why the 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Won't Go Away.

A Scripps-Howard poll of 1,010 adults last month found that 36% of Americans consider it "very likely" or "somewhat likely" that government officials either allowed the attacks to be carried out or carried out the attacks themselves. Thirty-six percent adds up to a lot of people. This is not a fringe phenomenon. It is a mainstream political reality.

  [ 09/11/06 ]

The ugly truth about ARMs

» Yikes! More on those Adjusted Rate Mortgages—and how they are going to fuel the bust.

There's no way to camouflage what Harold, a former computer technician who asked BusinessWeek not to publish his last name, is about to face. He's disabled and has one source of income: the $1,600 per month he receives in Social Security disability payments. In September, 2005, Harold refinanced out of a fixed-rate mortgage and into an option ARM for his $150,000 home in Chicago. The minimum monthly payment for the first year is $899, which he can afford. The interest-only payment is $1,329, which he can't. The fully amortized payment is $1,454, which his lender, Washington Mutual gets to count on its books.

(via rc3oi) / (1) Comments  / [ 09/07/06 ]

Real Estate POP!

» It would appear that the real estate bubble is starting to deflate. Fortune outlines four housing myths and why you should not believe them.  [ 08/31/06 ]

In spite of the statistics, home prices may be falling

» The latest statistics show a slowdown in home sales, but a slight uptick in home prices. What gives? Incentives to the buyer ranging from vacation time-shares, to free upgrades, to cash back. What that means is that, in spite of the statistics, home prices may in fact be falling. "We don’t have any house price indexes that get it right." Todd Sinai, associate professor of real estate at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  [ 08/31/06 ]

US rice supply contaminated with GM rice

» "Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced [last week] that U.S. commercial supplies of long-grain rice had become inadvertently contaminated with a genetically engineered variety not approved for human consumption." Is anyone surprised by this? / (3) Comments  / [ 08/25/06 ]

What the terrorists want

» Bruce Schneier: What the terrorists want.

It's time we calm down and fight terror with antiterror. This does not mean that we simply roll over and accept terrorism. There are things our government can and should do to fight terrorism, most of them involving intelligence and investigation -- and not focusing on specific plots.
But our job is to remain steadfast in the face of terror, to refuse to be terrorized. Our job is to not panic every time two Muslims stand together checking their watches.

I'll also note that those Americans who reacted to the 9/11 attacks by becoming virulently anti-Muslim have granted Osama his dearest wish.  [ 08/24/06 ]

Mortgage insurers ask Feds to restrict risky loans

» Mortgage insurers are so alarmed by the proliferation of interest-only and "option" mortgages, they are asking Federal regulators to restrict them.

About 70 percent of the people who take out an option adjustable-rate mortgage, which lets the buyer avoid paying even the full interest on the loan [Ed: !!!!], end up paying the lowest permissible amount each month, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which regulates banks. The amount unpaid is added to the mortgage balance, so borrowers end up owing more than when they started. Having no equity in a home increases the risk of foreclosure, especially when housing values fall and houses are hard to sell.

It's like the credit card writ large. / (2) Comments  / [ 08/23/06 ]

Hybrid premium recouped in 3 to 6 years

» With the rise in gas prices, hybrid owners can expect to recoup the extra cost of their vehicle in 3-6 years, a new study says. / (3) Comments  / [ 08/23/06 ]

Gladwell: The Risk Pool

» Malcolm Gladwell: The Risk Pool. What’s behind Ireland’s economic miracle—and G.M.’s financial crisis? / (1) Comments  / [ 08/22/06 ]

Jimmy Carter on the Bush Administration

» Der Spiegel interviews Jimmy Carter.

There's no doubt that this administration has made a radical and unpressured departure from the basic policies of all previous administrations including those of both Republican and Democratic presidents.
Under all of its predecessors there was a commitment to peace instead of preemptive war. Our country always had a policy of not going to war unless our own security was directly threatened and now we have a new policy of going to war on a preemptive basis. Another very serious departure from past policies is the separation of church and state, which I describe in the book. This has been a policy since the time of Thomas Jefferson and my own religious beliefs are compatible with this. The other principle that I described in the book is basic justice. We've never had an administration before that so overtly and clearly and consistently passed tax reform bills that were uniquely targeted to benefit the richest people in our country at the expense or the detriment of the working families of America.

  [ 08/21/06 ]

Why African-Americans Can't Swim

» Why African-Americans can't swim.  [ 08/18/06 ]

Why Bush v. Gore should not disappear into a legal memory hole

» Bush v. Gore has started to disappear into a legal memory hole—and why it should not.

The heart of Bush v. Gore’s analysis was its holding that the recount was unacceptable because the standards for vote counting varied from county to county. "Having once granted the right to vote on equal terms," the court declared, "the state may not, by later arbitrary and disparate treatment, value one person’s vote over that of another." If this equal protection principle is taken seriously, if it was not just a pretext to put a preferred candidate in the White House, it should mean that states cannot provide some voters better voting machines, shorter lines, or more lenient standards for when their provisional ballots get counted — precisely the system that exists across the country right now.

  [ 08/17/06 ]

New bill designed to get fresh produce into neighborhood bodegas

» Proposed federal law would help corner stores stock and sell healthy food.

The "Bodegas as Catalysts for Healthy Living Act", introduced into the House in late July by Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)...refers to a small business grants program...to help bodegas stock produce and market healthy items, as well as funding local education campaigns to spur purchases. In tackling the issue of access, the bill addresses one of the most salient critiques one can launch at food gurus like Alice Waters and Michael Pollan: That for many Americans, the issue isn't about finding a locally grown, organic apple. It's about finding an edible apple, period.

Of course, Waters and Pollan are all about local access to food for all, so just dismiss that particular straw man as a writer's flourish. Read it anyway.  [ 08/17/06 ]

The Gates Foundation and the Buffett Billons: Complicated

» Bill Gates’s Charity Races to Spend Buffett Billions. The rule is, they have to spend every nickel to get the next year's allotment. And that's a lot of money.  [ 08/16/06 ]

Bruce Schneier on terror

» Bruce Schneier: Focus on terrorists, not tactics.

The new airplane security measures focus on that plot, because authorities believe they have not captured everyone involved. It's reasonable to assume that a few lone plotters, knowing their compatriots are in jail and fearing their own arrest, would try to finish the job on their own. The authorities are not being public with the details -- much of the "explosive liquid" story doesn't hang together -- but the excessive security measures seem prudent.
But only temporarily.

  [ 08/14/06 ]

Deconstructing the TSA Security FAQ

» Timothy Noah has a few observations about the new TSA Security FAQ.  [ 08/14/06 ]

Foiled terrorist plot foils US travellers

» I knew the foiled terrorist plot to blow up transatlantic planes would cause major disruptions for air travellers, but get this: My husband is at an airport right now in a security line that extends out to the parking garage. There's no telling what time he'll get home, or if he'll be able to make it home tonight at all.

BTW, you're going to want to keep up with Bruce Schneier's commentary on this new attempt and its repercussions, both today and as the government releases new information. / (1) Comments  / [ 08/10/06 ]

Are US contracters in Iraq using forced labor?

» In June, the US State Department released its Trafficking in Persons Report for 2006. One paragraph from the State Department report caught the eye of the folks at Free the Slaves:

A recent DOD investigation...identified a number of abuses, some of them considered widespread, committed by DOD contractors or subcontractors of third country national (TCN) workers in Iraq. Some of these abuses are indicative of trafficking in persons....

It sounds incredible, but this is from the US State Department itself. Do read the Chicago Tribune articles listed here to draw your own conclusions about what is happening, and whether the US is doing enough to prevent the use of forced labor by DOD contracters.

Then there's this, from May of this year: "For security reasons, the new embassy is being built entirely by imported labor. The contractor, First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting Co., which was linked to human-trafficking allegations by a Chicago Tribune investigation last year, has hired a workforce of 900 mostly Asian workers who live on the site."

Free the Slaves has begun investigating these charges, and are compiling their findings on a new blog. / (1) Comments  / [ 08/09/06 ]

Anthony Kennedy charges the Bar Association to sell justice to the world

» Dahlia Lithwick: Anthony Kennedy's surprising charge to the American Bar Association. "He wants to define 'rule of law' so we can start to peddle the concept worldwide. It is not enough to sell the world on the U.S. Constitution, he says. That is merely a set of 'negative commands.'"  [ 08/09/06 ]

Iraq Culture Smart Card

» Slate explains the Iraq Culture Smart Card, a 16-panel breast-pocket sized card distributed to Marines to explain the local culture.  [ 08/07/06 ]

More likely lawful than not?

» A new Senate report that finds so many of America's most wealthy citizens use offshore tax shelters that the US government can't hope to control the misconduct. Two billionaires are portrayed in the report as victims because their "professional advisers assured them their deals to avoid taxes were more likely lawful than not." Um. "More likely lawful than not"?  / (3) Comments  / [ 08/03/06 ]

Livestock Boondoggle Program

» I'm sure you've already heard about the Livestock Compensation Program .

In all, the Livestock Compensation Program cost taxpayers $1.2 billion during its two years of existence, 2002 and 2003. Of that, $635 million went to ranchers and dairy farmers in areas where there was moderate drought or none at all, according to an analysis of government records by The Washington Post. None of the ranchers were required to prove they suffered an actual loss. The government simply sent each of them a check based on the number of cattle they owned.

  [ 08/03/06 ]

Why the US Obsession with Fidel Castro?

» Is anyone else baffled by the US obsession with Castro and his illness? (Cuban immigrants aside: of course they have strong feelings about events in their country of origin.)

Our entire relation with Cuba is an artifact of the Cold War, and that's been over for years. At that time, Cuba represented the Soviet Union in our own hemisphere, a possible foothold for the Communists who were bent on taking us over. Once the Soviet Union fell, why didn't we instantly normalize relations with Cuba, in effect saying "You, yourself, are actually not a threat. You're just a teeny little country." That's far more powerful than this vestigal fear—in fact, our outdated policy imbues Cuba with more authority than any objective measure ever would. Do you think Castro hasn't noticed that he still terrifies the United States? / (2) Comments  / [ 08/02/06 ]

Stop illegal immigration with higher minimum wage

» What's the most effective way to curb illegal immigration? Raise the minimum wage. / (1) Comments  / [ 07/26/06 ]

Partisans see bias even in the same newscast

» Researchers have found that partisans on both sides of an issue will see bias against their side even when they are watching in the same news report.

The tendency to see bias in the news -- now the raison d'etre of much of the blogosphere -- is such a reliable indicator of partisan thinking that researchers coined a term, "hostile media effect," to describe the sincere belief among partisans that news reports are painting them in the worst possible light. [...] The best-informed partisans were the most likely to see bias against their side.

 / (2) Comments  / [ 07/25/06 ]

Iran, Israel, and Iraq

» Three from Robot Wisdom:

  [ 07/25/06 ]

The perils of hitting back

» All cultures seem to allow for retribution: an in-kind act to repay an affront and to balance things out. But studies suggest that people tend to remember the causes of their own actions, and the consequences of other peoples'. To complicate matters, volunteers instructed to respond to a physical touch with equal force typically respond with about 40 percent more force than they had just experienced. It all adds up to this: He Who Cast the First Stone Probably Didn’t. / (1) Comments  / [ 07/25/06 ]

Bush cuts IRS estate tax lawyers

» Bush cuts the number of estate tax lawyers working in the IRS. Sharyn Phillips, a veteran I.R.S. estate tax lawyer in Manhattan, called the cuts a “back-door way for the Bush administration to achieve what it cannot get from Congress, which is repeal of the estate tax.” I guess there's more than one way to skin a cat.  [ 07/24/06 ]

Poor neighborhoods have higher rates of disease

» A new study concludes that residents of Chicago's South and West sides—a "food desert" with ample access to fast food restaurants, but very few grocery stores—are more likely to die prematurely and at greater rates from diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease and obesity. [bugmenot] Overall, the worst food choices fell in African-American neighborhoods. "The new study is a sequel to a 2005 report that found that poor residents of Chicago's South Side live in a 'commercial desert' where they have little access to major grocers, pharmacies or other retailers, but have plenty of liquor stores and fast-food restaurants." (via batc)  [ 07/20/06 ]

Study: The Ghetto Tax is real

» Meanwhile, the Brookings Institution has discovered that the Ghetto tax is real. "[P]oor urban residents frequently pay hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year in extra costs for everyday necessities. The study said some of the disparities were due to real differences in the cost of doing business in poor areas, some to predatory financial practices and some to consumer ignorance." The study is available online.  [ 07/20/06 ]

Spike Jonze interview with Al Gore

» Wow. I'm with Rafe: Why wasn't this Spike Jonze film interview of Al Gore shown during the 2000 election season? It's 15 minutes long. Save it for your lunch hour or when you get home. You'll be glad you saw it.  [ 07/19/06 ]

Progressive Realism

» NYT: An American Foreign Policy That Both Realists and Idealists Should Fall in Love With. Robert Wright, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, outlines his approach to foreign policy: progressive realism.

This sounds harsh, but it is only acknowledgment of something often left unsaid: a nation’s foreign policy will always favor the interests of its citizens and so fall short of moral perfection. We can at least be thankful that history, by intertwining the fates of peoples, is bringing national interest closer to moral ideals.
Harnessing this benign dynamic isn’t the only redemptive feature of progressive realism. [Hans] Morgenthau emphasized that sound strategy requires a “respectful understanding” of all players in the game. “The political actor,” he wrote, “must put himself into the other man’s shoes, look at the world and judge it as he does.”
This immersion in the perspective of the other is sometimes called “moral imagination,” and it is hard. Understanding why some people hate America, and why terrorists kill, is challenging not just intellectually but emotionally. Yet it is crucial and has been lacking in President Bush, who saves time by ascribing behavior that threatens America to the hatred of freedom or (and this is a real time saver) to evil. As Morgenthau saw, exploring the root causes of bad behavior, far from being a sentimentalist weakness, informs the deft use of power. Realpolitik is reality-based.

 / (4) Comments  / [ 07/17/06 ]

Recommended: The Immigration Equation

» A Little Weekend Reading: The Immigration Equation probes the immigration debate through the lens of two economists: David Card, a Canadian who believes that "immigration is no big deal and that a lot of the opposition to it is most likely social or cultural" and George Borjas, a Cuban immigrant who believes he has proven that immigrants hurt the economic prospects of the Americans they compete with. It's a thought-provoking and subtle examination of a complex issue.

That stark contrast conveys, to economists, two important facts. One is that Mexicans are supplying a skill level that is much in demand. It doesn't just seem that Americans don't want to be hotel chambermaids, pick lettuce or repair roofs; it's true. Most gringos are too educated for that kind of work. The added diversity, the complementariness of skills, that Mexicans bring is good for the economy as a whole. They perform services that would otherwise be more expensive and in some cases simply unavailable.
The Americans who are unskilled, however, must compete with a disproportionate number