Two things were in the news this week that, while not necessarily effecting me immediately today, nevertheless represent things that had a large influence on who I am as a person. The first was the decision that Newsweek will no longer produce its print magazine, ending almost 80 years of print editions. The second, announced… Continue reading Thus passes history
I’m unelectable!
NPR’s Planet Money decided to talk to a bunch of economists of all stripes to ask what they would like to see in an economic platform for a presidential candidate. They came up with this: eliminating the mortgage interest and health care deductions, corporate income tax, income tax, a carbon tax, and legalized marijuana. Aside… Continue reading I’m unelectable!
I’m the 53%
It’s piling on at this point to comment on Mitt Romney’s utter disdain for almost half of the U.S. population. If you really want the good stuff, check out Ezra Klein, Josh Marshall, David Frum, Kevin Drum, and Atrios (actually, you should be reading them ever day). But if there’s one thing that I am,… Continue reading I’m the 53%
The Role of the Media
I don’t believe in objective journalism, in that I don’t think it exists. I’ve long ranted against expecting objective journalism, which these days, essentially results in “he said, she said” and “balanced” reporting. One of the biggest gaps to result is the fact that very, very rarely will the media call out people as liars.… Continue reading The Role of the Media
DropBox Two-Factor Authentication
DropBox is cool. I use it to keep my many computers in sync. This includes keeping my password manager master safe file in sync (you all use password managers, right?) Even though that file is encrypted with a good encryption algorithm, it’s still a file I would like to protect. I used a pretty strong… Continue reading DropBox Two-Factor Authentication
Our Intelligent Discourse
I was all ready to write a post about how fun, content-free issues like how Obama is “slashing Medicare and using the money to pay for Obamacare!” are taking over this election cycle, while truly important issues are being forgotten. For example, the fact that MF Global is likely going to evade criminal charges for… Continue reading Our Intelligent Discourse
The Ryan Job
I’m not a fan of Ron Paul, but compared to Paul Ryan, Ron Paul is at least consistent. Like much of the Democratic world, I think it’s awesomely hilarious that Romney chose Ryan as his running mate. I don’t have much to add to the great commentary already out there (see Ezra Klein and this… Continue reading The Ryan Job
Squaring the Circle
Surprise, surprise: the Romney tax plan to cut taxes for the richest Americans can only be paid for if you raise taxes on the other 95% of people. Predictably, Romney is saying that the study is “biased”, because it doesn’t count for the massive economic boom that would result. So who is right? Let me… Continue reading Squaring the Circle
…And All That
There’s a lot going on right now. Too much, in fact, what with Europe teetering on the edge, Romney flying around the world with both feet in his mouth, half of India dark, and something fun going on in London. All of that is too much to comment on individually. But it all ties together,… Continue reading …And All That
Different Rules
If there is one thing that is evident this election cycle (and, more broadly, throughout the ongoing financial meltdown that has been going on for years now), it’s that the wealthy play by a very different set of rules from the rest of us. Sometimes, the things they do are technically illegal, but end up… Continue reading Different Rules