tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68880602012-05-26T12:30:48.084-04:00Swerve LeftDerisive diatribes about the state of the nation, nation states and swerving leftwardKarlonoreply@blogger.comBlogger1630125This is an XML content feed. It is intended to be viewed in a newsreader or syndicated to another site, subject to copyright and fair use.tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-85013726584118761862012-05-25T16:53:00.001-04:002012-05-25T16:55:53.336-04:00Rebellion as existential actWith the approach of Memorial Day, I thought that a recent article by Chris Hedges was very apropos (especially this paragraph toward the end):
Rebellion is an act that assures us of remaining free and independent human beings. Rebellion is not waged because it will work; indeed in its noblest form it is waged when we know it will fail. Our existence, as Camus wrote, must itself be “an act of Karlonoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-33930678957573431622012-05-25T10:02:00.000-04:002012-05-25T10:02:31.281-04:00Krugman on Republican plans for the economyKarlonoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-73404254466344746702012-05-23T10:18:00.001-04:002012-05-23T10:18:55.715-04:00Fake warriors and bizarre alliesIn today's news, conspiracy theories abound. Jean Levi has an interesting article arguing the China's terracotta army is actually fake. In another piece of news of the bizarre, Pakistan has apparently imprisoned the doctor who helped the U.S. located Osama bin Laden.Karlonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-50956115393910209312012-05-22T10:22:00.000-04:002012-05-22T10:22:58.207-04:00Climate Reality Institute's new adIn response to the Heartland Institute's recent ad (which was rapidly pulled), the Climate Reality Institute is putting up the following billboard:
In the end, some people simply refuse to take into consideration the findings of science, preferring to trust in emotional outbursts by the talking heads sponsored by corporations that have every reason to be biased.
Karlonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-73865507757362695612012-05-19T14:58:00.003-04:002012-05-19T15:04:42.746-04:00The eight NguyensThis tickled by funny bone:
For the eight students at a California high school with the same last name-Nguyen- it was obvious their wallet-size snapshots would be sharing the same yearbook page. So instead of exerting their individuality with the standard Grateful Dead quote and a prom-worthy up-do, they decided to join forces for the ultimate prank. Alexandra, Angela, Angelica, Elizabeth, Karlonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-6944867857114029462012-05-16T14:14:00.001-04:002012-05-16T14:14:51.427-04:00Since when did we need a supermajority to pass laws?WaPo has a good article about the constitutionality of the filibuster. The article makes a very good case that the current use of the filibuster was never intended by the writers of the Constitution.Karlonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-27228095550133579792012-05-04T19:58:00.018-04:002012-05-05T00:13:37.478-04:00Do you still believe in science? Well, you're a terrorist.According to the Heartland Institute, people who put their trust in science instead of trusting oil companies to guide environmental policy are "terrorists." Normally, I would make some snarky comment at this point, but this is just so over-the-top stupid that I'm momentarily struck speechless. I'm especially shocked that people would bother to take on "global warming" at this point, since it's aKarlonoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-8597921051746693652012-04-30T09:58:00.003-04:002012-04-30T10:03:37.434-04:00Crazy vs. zanyKarlonoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-9766849704298133282012-04-25T11:48:00.002-04:002012-04-25T11:48:57.850-04:00A question we should all be askingKarlonoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-69907532875015628002012-04-22T14:50:00.004-04:002012-04-22T16:11:31.155-04:00Earth Day: A few reflectionsHappy Earth Day! Today we reflect on the repercussions of our actions and our way of life. We're living through one of the planet's great extinctions. Unless there's some artificial creation of new viable species in the future (if such a thing is even plausible given the complexity involved), there will never be as many species on this planet as there were when I was a child for as long as Homo Karlonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-90576037119584224712012-04-22T12:31:00.001-04:002012-04-22T12:31:29.458-04:00Oil depletion and alternativesKurt Cobb has a good article about how oil production has remained relatively flat for years now. Unfortunately, alternative liquid fuels don't appear to be poised to make up the difference.Karlonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-51982496279708223982012-04-16T17:28:00.002-04:002012-04-16T17:28:35.393-04:00Sad but oh so trueKarlonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-33793274930122038352012-04-16T11:12:00.000-04:002012-04-16T11:12:14.898-04:00CTJ on Buffet RuleThe Citizens for Tax Justice have a good article advocating acceptance of the Buffet Rule--along with a switch to treating investment income like any other income.
[Excerpt] The most straightforward way to implement the Buffett Rule would be to eliminate the personal income tax preferences for investment income. This would mean, first, allowing the parts of the Bush tax cuts that expanded those Karlonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-67054904918618288842012-04-15T14:05:00.002-04:002012-04-15T14:07:18.156-04:00Occupy 2.0Occupy Wall Street is literally occupying Wall Street. Over 40 occupiers recently began sleeping on Wall Street across from the New York Stock Exchange. They're encouraging everyone angry at the greed of the financial system to bring a sleeping bag. Follow on Twitter: #SleepOnWallSt, #SleepfulProtest.
Karlonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-88236501474480204642012-04-11T13:45:00.002-04:002012-04-11T13:47:31.438-04:00Want a 22,000% on investment? Hire a lobbyist
Lest anybody argue that money doesn't make a difference when currying political favor...
Alexander, R. M., Mazza, S.W. and Scholz, S. (2009). Measuring rates of return for lobbying expenditures: An empirical analysis under the American Jobs Creation Act (April 8, 2009). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1375082 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1375082
[ABSTRACT] The lobbying Karlonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-36043072807937409262012-03-30T17:37:00.002-05:002012-03-30T17:38:49.117-05:00Jobs numbersI don't think Obama's been much of a president. That said, the Republicans are likely to do much greater damage if they're given the reins. As Romney goes on and on about Obama's mismanagement, it's important to remember just how dismal things were in the U.S. after Republicans had been allowed to pass out endless favors to their rich friends. This chart's very telling:
Karlonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-62752614027941223282012-03-28T09:22:00.000-05:002012-03-28T09:22:34.567-05:00Mad menI really think the Republicans are shooting themselves in the foot with their assault on women's rights. I just can't believe that this demographic of white males pulled right out of a smoke-filled room in Mad Men, represents a winning combination at the polls. Of course, we'll rapidly stop hearing about all these "moral" issues after the Republic race is decided. Nevertheless, it's a reminder ofKarlonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-85333698857037692702012-03-27T09:38:00.002-05:002012-03-30T11:20:54.126-05:00The mandate issueThe tragedy of the healthcare issue in the U.S. is that we can't simply be up-front about it and pay the "mandate" out of taxes. This would eliminate insurance companies, which currently all demand their own pound of flesh, and get the debate focused on the key issues of costs and services. If the U.S. could do that, I'd actually be supportive of incentives for people to stay healthy (and extra Karlonoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-42851732712104470382012-03-18T18:26:00.000-05:002012-03-18T18:26:11.162-05:00Pavement indeedThis is a nice quote from a piece on Wall Street by Robert Reich:
The problem isn’t excessive greed. If you took the greed out of Wall Street all you’d have left is pavement. The problem is endemic abuse of power and trust.Karlonoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-24352503741715859142012-02-28T10:57:00.000-05:002012-02-28T10:57:43.135-05:00The current cast of clownsThis comic's bizarre...but then, so is the entire list of Republican candidates.
Karlonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-71652880402742538362012-02-14T14:20:00.001-05:002012-02-14T14:20:04.702-05:00The food stamp presidentsKarlonoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-50120547266859413862012-02-08T11:33:00.000-05:002012-02-08T11:33:08.034-05:00SETI: Does it need a Dysonian approach?Bradbury, Ćirković, and Dvorsky have an interesting paper criticizing SETI's current approach. An audio of the entire paper can be found at Dvorsky's site Sentient Developments.Karlonoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-2090927335381158742012-02-02T11:12:00.003-05:002012-02-02T11:17:40.149-05:00Karlonoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-91878085278570392942012-01-26T17:31:00.002-05:002012-01-26T17:35:25.592-05:00Bright minds vs. dark attitudesSome of the correlations discussed in my previous posts receive further support from a recent study by Hodson and Busseri (2012). The study suggests that people who give in to racism and prejudice may simply have low cognitive functioning. The research also finds that children with low intelligence tend to hold prejudiced views as adults. These findings point to a vicious cycle, according to leadKarlonoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-80361841501283647602012-01-18T15:40:00.020-05:002012-01-21T16:19:08.377-05:00Fat, stupid, ignorant, and devoutHave you ever noticed the odd correlation between conservative views and virtually every negative social trend? Here we have the 2008 electoral map:
And here you have recent state comparisons of obesity.
As would be expected, the correlation isn't perfect, but it's pretty close. Conservatives (especially those in the staunchly conservative bible-thumpin' south) tends to be fatter. This comes Karlonoreply@blogger.com5