Tom Emmer has been rightly criticized for not revealing the details of his budget (the Grand Forks Herald, not exactly a liberal newspaper, has a particularly brutal dressing-down of Emmer). So far, he’s released a program of more than $600 million in tax cuts, which only widens the budget deficit Minnesota faces. Why hasn’t he… Continue reading Emmer’s budget fantasy
Upgrade blues and customer service
About six months ago, I bought a Motorola Cliq XT smartphone. The phone itself is still just fine, and I have no real complaints about it. However, my phone is at the center of an issue that is demonstrating how not to deal with your customers: the issue of a promised upgrade that keeps slipping… Continue reading Upgrade blues and customer service
Emmer and government employees
Tom Emmer is a deeply unserious candidate for office. There will be many examples of why that is popping up between now and election day. Here’s one: his comments on public employee pay. I really have to wonder how much attention Tom Emmer is paying to his own legislative staff people, who are themselves public… Continue reading Emmer and government employees
Fannie and Freddie
More financial regulation stuff, prompted by this post, and this one from Economix. . I agree 100% that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should go, that the mortgage interest deduction should be limited or abolished, and that the government should no more meddle in preferring homeownership over renting and vice versa. As we’ve just learned,… Continue reading Fannie and Freddie
Financial Reform
I’ve wanted to write something about the financial reform bill for a while now, but school and work and wedding planning and campaigning and the rest of real life have conspired against me. I did, however, find this post on the Freakonomics blog asking a few experts on what they would do to simplify the… Continue reading Financial Reform
Online Poker Bill Advances
Not quite as boring a headline as “Worthwhile Canadian Initiative”, but it’s still a good sign. The bill passed the House Financial Services Committee by a pretty healthy margin. There are still several steps to go before it becomes law, but hopefully this means that Congress is starting to understand the inevitability of online poker.… Continue reading Online Poker Bill Advances
Corporate politicking
Citizens United was a poor decision for democracy. I can understand how it came about: it was the logical extension of a set of decisions and customs dating from the 19th century. However logical and direct that train of thought may be, though, it loses sight of one big issue: that corporations, while a convenient… Continue reading Corporate politicking
A darker shade of humanity
The mosque near Ground Zero, the English-only city ordinance in Lino Lakes, the immigration law in Arizona…quite a lot of people these days are upset by “the other”. Each of these topics in turn deserves a full rundown, but in short, a lot of it boils down to backlash against a changing world, a world… Continue reading A darker shade of humanity
Moving from Smugmug to Zenphoto
I’ve had my photo gallery at SmugMug for a couple of years now. SmugMug is a great site, but a couple of things have made me look for an alternative. First, the price: the pro level is a bit spendy, at $150 a year. For people who make a living at photography, this is a… Continue reading Moving from Smugmug to Zenphoto
Blogroll
So I was thinking to myself, “My blogroll is bare. I wonder if I can import the list of blogs I read via Google Reader into WordPress?” Yes. Yes I can. So I did. Those are the blogs I’m subscribed to. They are good. Check them out.