By Lambert Strether of Corrente
2016
Policy
Ben Carson, long interview. Let me quote the interviewer: “Ryssdal: I’m really trying not to be circular here, Dr. Carson, but if you’re not gonna raise the debt limit and you’re not gonna give specifics on what you’re gonna cut, then how are we going to know what you are going to do as president of the United States?” [Marketplace].
“The Republican acknowledged that “there is sea level rise” in his native Florida, and that the flooding should be addressed with preventative measures in the short term. But Mr. Rubio said that market-based approaches should be employed to tackling climate-based problems in the long-term, and that he didn’t believe in numerous pieces of legislation that sought to regulate the matter” [Wall Street Journal, “Marco Rubio Says New Regs Wrong Way to Fix Climate Change”].
Clinton campaign taking advice on banking from Barney Frank, now a banker, who doesn’t want to reinstate Glass-Steagall [Business Insider]. Ka-ching.
“Clinton’s campaign confirmed that the proposal for tax on high-frequency trading was crafted with input from her campaign Chief Financial Officer Gary Gensler” [Reuters]. “Gensler’s hiring was seen as a move to both contain the high costs that plagued Clinton’s 2008 presidential bid and send a signal that she would take a hard line on Wall Street.” See Yves and Bill Black on Gensler here.
“Hillary Clinton’s TPP opposition shows just how worried she is about Bernie Sanders” [WaPo].
“Conservative groups have written to President Barack Obama asking him to back a push for strong encryption” [Daily Dot]. And they’re right.
Money
How Revolution Messaging has “been working to translate grassroots enthusiasm for Sanders into dollars” [Yahoo]. “The loyalty established among the campaign’s followers, [Dean alum Michael Whitney] says, is due to their willingness to learn about the policies that are central to the election, and parse through emails from Sanders that are sometimes as long as 2,000 words.” This reads like a beat sweetener, but there’s also a lot of good detail.
“How Did the Democrats Become Favorites of the Rich?” [New York Times].
Profile of reclusive Republican hedgie squillionaire Robert Mercer, international man of mystery [WaPo]. His own
staffsued him for screwing them out of their pay, along with assorted wacky behaviors typical of the overly entitled [Bloomberg].
The Voters
“[A]fter a bruising 2012 cycle, in which its polls were farther off than most of its competitors, Gallup told Politico it isn’t planning any polls for the presidential primary horse race this cycle. And, even following an internal probe into what went wrong last time around, Gallup won’t commit to tracking the general election next year” [Politico].
The Trail
UPDATE “These People Are the Secret to Bernie Sanders’s Success” [The Nation (Furzy Mouse)]. Aidan King, the Sanders volunteer group’s 24-year-old senior digital organizer:
“I was so excited about Obama. And I still think he’s done amazing things. But I wanted more follow-through,” says King, listing “drone strikes, kill lists, NSA spying on Americans, the expansion of Bush-administration policies, a failed drug war, failed foreign policy,” and the increasing influence of money in politics as his main concerns.
That’s quite a list.
“I put a lot of stake in authenticity,” [King] says. “And I’ve been exposed to Bernie’s politics and his honesty since I was in diapers.”
Rubio panders to Uber and AirBnB [Bloomberg]. “Ask any Uber driver about the wonders of the on-demand economy, and you’ll get an earful about the squeeze being put on them.”
“When asked why Trump is so popular [Bill] Clinton said it was because the real-estate mogul is a ‘master brander’ and ‘the most interesting character out there.’ [Hill: “Thanks, Bill!”] Clinton explained that when Trump speaks he ‘overrides the ideological differences'” [Salon].
Graydon Carter returns to the fray: “Why Donald Trump Will Always Be a ‘Short-Fingered Vulgarian'” [Vanity Fair].
To this day, I receive the occasional envelope from Trump. There is always a photo of him—generally a tear sheet from a magazine. On all of them he has circled his hand in gold Sharpie in a valiant effort to highlight the length of his fingers. I almost feel sorry for the poor fellow because, to me, the fingers still look abnormally stubby.
“As Colombian Oil Money Flowed To Clintons, State Department Took No Action To Prevent Labor Violations” [Business Insider].
Stats Watch
Jobless Claims, week of October 3, 2015: “Initial claims fell 13,000 in the October 3 week to 263,000 for the sharpest decline and lowest level in 2-1/2 months” [Econoday]. “Breaking even lower to point to even less slack on the unemployment side of the labor market.” And: “Claim levels are at 40 year lows (with the normal range around 350,000 weekly initial unemployment claims of levels seen historically during times of economic expansion” [Econoday].
Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, week of October 4, 2015: “Consumer confidence readings continue to show unusual strength and acceleration” [Econoday]. Up nearly 5 points since mid-September for the best 3-week run in six years, a run that belies soft job growth and volatility in the global markets.”
Consumer Credit, August 2015: “Revolving credit continues to show life, up a solid $4.0 billion in August for a sixth straight gain. Non-revolving credit, driven by both vehicle financing and student financing which is tracked in this component, rose $12.0 billion to make for a headline increase of $16.0 billion.” [Econoday]. “Gains in this reading, which have been scarce this recovery, perhaps suggest that consumers are growing less reluctant to run up their credit cards, which would be good news for retailers going into the holidays”
Glencore: “Glencore’s problems strongly suggest that we will be hearing more about bank or hedge fund losses tied to this commodities behemoth before this cycle ends in the same kind of hubris as the last one – with regulators rolling out the same nonsense that no one could have seen it coming” [Wall Street on Parade]. And a parade of horribles indeed, including Deutsche Banks ~$8 billion kitchen sink.
VW: “[New CEO Michael] Horn said he was made aware of the ‘possible emissions non-compliance’ following the publication of a West Virginia University study in spring 2014” [Sky News]. But this is 2015, amiright?
VW: “[Michael Horn]: ‘This was a couple of software engineers who put this in for whatever reason” (the defeat device) [NBC]. Had anyone heard the phrase “rogue engineer” yet? How about “bad apples”?
Canada: “Now that Statistics Canada has reported the latest numbers for July, we can see that the country’s economy has once again surpassed economists’ expectations. July GDP grew 0.3% month over month, ahead of the consensus forecast by a tenth of a percentage point” [Econoday]. And: “Canadian housing starts surged in September” [Market News]. Good news for Harper?
Ag: “Crop market behaviour signals that prices have reverted to a long-term downward trend seen before the 2008 spike, United Nations researchers said, casting doubt on the prospects of a rebound in values for now” [Agrimoney]. “‘That agricultural commodity prices are interconnected with energy prices has long been established,”‘the [UB] said in a report, noting the use of many crops in making biofuels, and the increased mechanisation which has increased farm sector’s fuel dependency.”
The Fed: “The Federal Reserve needs to prepare financial markets for a possible rate hike soon, if it hopes to raise rates off the zero lower bound in December, Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi said Thursday” [Market News]. “‘Financial markets are not on the same page as the Fed,’ Zandi said in an economic briefing. ‘If policymakers don’t soon prepare markets for a rate hike, it won’t be in December.'” Well, as I keep saying, the 1% need to buy their stocking stuffers. So no “lift-off” in the holiday season! And: Asset purchases by central banks from 2009 (handy chart) [The Economist].
Honey for the Bears: “The next financial crisis is coming, it’s a just a matter of time – and we haven’t finished fixing the flaws in the global system that were so brutally exposed by the last one.” [Christine LaGarde, Guardian].
Fear & Greed Index, October 6, 2015: 39 (-2); Fear [CNN]. Last week: 17 (Extreme Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed).
Gunz
Headline: “Good woman with a gun shoots up Home Depot parking lot trying to take down suspected shoplifters” [Salon]. Remind me what’s “good” about filling a parking lot with random gunfire over some guy trying to boost a power drill? How much you wanna bet she didn’t have gun insurance?
.@people comes out hard for reasonable gun control, publishes EVERY Congressperson’s number, tells readers to call. pic.twitter.com/jy3DFNsRDY
— Maryn McKenna (@marynmck) October 7, 2015
Here’s the list from People. It would be great if this list were updated and kept public somewhere. “People” seems like a great place to do that, if you think about it.
Dear Old Blighty
“The Great British Bake Off 2015: the final – Nadiya crowned winner” [Telegraph]. This is such an encouraging story!
Our Famously Free Press
“The ‘value’ of a Peter Spiegel retweet in EU policy communications” [LinkedIn, naturellement]. “It’s a metric by which Brussels communicators often measure success. Often, it’s the only metric.”
“The Story Behind Medium’s New Logo” [Medium]. Once you see that Medium’s new “M” logo looks like an “N,” you won’t be able to unsee it.
Imperial Collapse Watch
“Everyone loves an artfully shot post-communist ruin” [The Calvert Journal]. Look on my works, ye mighty….
Gaia
“World’s oceans facing biggest coral die-off in history, scientists warn” [Guardian].
Guillotine Watch
“Zeines and Hurwitz made their money in a field that’s now called merchant cash advance” [Bloomberg]. “They figured out how to hook people such as florists and pizzeria owners with promises of fast cash and discovered just how ridiculous the profits could be—even if it meant driving their borrowers into bankruptcy.” Giving bros a bad name….
Class Warfare
“Why the term ‘sharing economy’ needs to die” [Guardian]. It will die when the froth from QE ends, which looks like never.
“Online Dating Made This Woman a Pawn in a Global Crime Plot” [Wired]. System D breaks bad.
“The one number that’s eerily good at predicting your success in love” [WaPo]. Spoiler alert: Your credit score. So we, as a society, have decided to define reproductive fitness by the simple rules of neoliberalism. That will work, until it doesn’t.
“Federal Reserve economists Andrew Chang and Phillip Li set about researching how many of the results published in top economics journals could be replicated — repeating the study and finding the same results” [Business Insider]. “That leads the researchers to a pretty blunt conclusion: ‘Because we are able to replicate less than half of the papers in our sample even with help from the authors, we assert that economics research is usually not replicable.'” Perhaps the papers, economic research, and the *** cough *** discipline of economics, serve some other purpose than disinterested science…
“Why Free Markets Make Fools of Us” [Cass Sunstein, New York Review of Books]. Review of Akerloff and the aptronymic Shiller’s new book: “Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception.” Surely “The Economics of Manipulation and Deception” could have some needless words omitted?
News of the Wired
“Off the Rails: A Journey Through Japan” [Al Jazeera]. For train fans and Japan fans!
“A new study reveals where Americans have the most trouble sleeping” [WaPo]. Me, last night, anomalously in Maine, which is why Water Cooler is a bit light on links today. Phases of the moon? Mercury in retrograde?
“The people saying these things are my neighbors. They jog by me in the park, nodding their good mornings, and queue up with me at the bank. They are the same people who belly up to the stands at this farmers’ market, pressing their fingers lightly into the flesh of avocados, testing for ripeness” [Zocalo Public Square]. Potential expats, consider.
Vote for the woman you want on the $10 bill here, or via #TheNew10 [WaPo]. How about Eleanor Roosevelt? Just to balance out that dim bulb Jebbie’s suggestion of Maggie Thatcher. I mean, at least Roosevelt is a U.S. citizen…
Readers, feel free to contact me with (a) links, and even better (b) sources I should curate regularly, and (c) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi are deemed to be honorary plants! See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. And here’s today’s plant (Adrian):
Adrian writes that this plant (whose name “I cannot for the life of me remember”) was from an exhibition: “All the plants Frida Kahlo had included in her paintings and which she grew herself at the Casa Azul.”
If you enjoy Water Cooler, please consider tipping and click the hat. Winter is coming, I need to buy fuel, and I need to keep my server up, too.
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Mercury in retrograde?
Or in your fish? Fillings? Or Thiomersal?
What I don’t get is why, with refrigeration widely available, at least in the US, why preservatives are even needed with vaccines and also why those who are squeamish about GMOs are unfazed by a heavy metal injected into children?
Just asking …
Usually it’s easy to tell why a person can’t sleep. Quiet reflection will bring it out.
Is your FICO score high enough for sleep?
I can think of nothing worth going into debt for.
The preservatives are needed for the multi-dose vaccine vials. Once it’s been opened for the first person’s vaccination, refrigeration isn’t enough. That’s why I always insist on single dose vaccines without any thiomersal. Last year it cost me some money, because I couldn’t get my influenza vaccine at my doctor’s office, where my insurance would have covered it. I went to a pharmacy where they had the single dose variety, but my insurance wouldn’t cover that.
Ah yes, to save a few cents …
“Penny wise, pound foolish” comes to mind.
And with such insensitivity one wonders why parents are skeptical?
In the U.S. and the European Union, childhood vaccines don’t contain thiomersal. Multi-dose influenza vials are an exception, of course.
So much of the parental skepticism is unnecessary.
Yes – but it’s too late now. The essential problem is that injecting babies with mercury – for decades – was a severe violation of trust, EVEN if nothing came of it at all (which we don’t know, nor even whether the necessary research is being done). Now they’ve taken it out, thus admitting that it shouldn’t have been there in the first place, and so proven that it wasn’t causing autism – of course, we still don’t know what IS causing rapidly rising rates of autism.
But once trust is broken, especially on such an emotional issue, it’s very difficult to restore. Science education in this country is so poor that most people don’t understand the debate – and Yves has posted multiple links on the questionable honesty of a LOT of medical science, so that doesn’t help.
It’s too bad that vaccinations are the victim, but I don’t think people should be TOO trusting of authority of any kind. No one who reads this site regularly would think that. If more parents start THINKING about medical advice they receive, that might be a good thing.
I wonder about additive threshhold effects. By itself the mercury in thimerosal might have been harmless. Then again, by itself the low but rising levels of mercury in fish, lakewater, breathable air, etc. might by themselves have been harmless.
BUT! Possibly the just-barely-harmless thimerosal levels plus the just-barely-harmless environmental and foodborne levels added together might have added up to net harmful levels.
That would be the difference between ethylmercury and methylmercury. The body easily eliminates ethylmercury, it doesn’t easily eliminate methylmercury. This is why the one in vaccines (ethylmercury) is not a big deal.
And as Vatch said, the vaccines in the US lack any at all.
Re: Mercury in retrograde. First, I’m late with this comment. Second, sorry to be ‘that guy’, but it couldn’t go unsaid: Mercury doesn’t go into retrograde. Outer planets go retrograde when Earth catches up with them in its orbit, then parallax causes them to appear to move backwards as we pass them by. Mercury orbits closer to the sun, therefore faster than we do, so this never happens.
Whew! I feel better now. :-)
*Sigh*. You know, because the same observations that are behind astrology were used for navigation, the ancients DID pay a lot of attention to this issue. This was just about their most advanced form of science.
Inner planets can appear to go backwards even though moving faster when they are on the other side of the sun relative to us. See here for details as to how calculated:
https://books.google.com/books?id=WY8hjKtSaP0C&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=%22mercury+retrograde%22+how+calculate+ephemeris&source=bl&ots=Bz_AD9LG2D&sig=2-YzzUPrOvwbrFIt_HztKG_ioM4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CE4Q6AEwB2oVChMIy9TUqem6yAIVCGk-Ch1wQQs5#v=onepage&q=%22mercury%20retrograde%22%20how%20calculate%20ephemeris&f=false
Re shootout at Home Depot: I think the “good woman” is meant to be sarcastic. The Washington Post story about this says the local authorities are considering a long list of charges against her. So–while it’s not likely–she may be a good woman behind bars.
I think the “good woman” is meant to be sarcastic.
I have my doubts since, to make up for subtle, government subsidized theft by the banks, we have to be especially zealous against shoplifters, those wreckers of economies and causers of world wars. /sarc
What is her credit score and is she nice on faceborg?
I’m not so sure. We have irony quotes to handle that….
Hmmm. The police are deciding whether or not to charge her. That seems very patient…
“The 47-year-old woman had a concealed carry permit, and — clearly — some good sense to go with it.”
I don’t think sarcasm was intended here. Though of course I’m baffled on how “good sense” enters into it. Like in the face of seemingly daily insensible shootings, finally, finally a good sensible one? Gosh, if everyone armed would just be sensible, good people, “open carry” would be OK?
To me just another example of the hidden long term damage of our sick gun laws. Desensitization?
And I’d like to take the time here to just say thank you, Lambert, for the excellent on-going coverage & commentary on the TPP (among myriad other things). As always. The best out there by a long shot.
Thanks! I think TPP is going to be an ongoing story, and it will be interesting to see how it features in the Democratic debates coming up Tuesday.
Agreed. NC has become probably my primary source of news (or at least I rely on y’all to filter out or expose the propaganda before reading mainstream stuff). Keep up the good work!
Best suggestion I heard regarding guns is to allow open and concealed carry at all Republican campaign events and debates. Long guns, short guns, RPG’s, anything you want to bring. For sure, the Feb debate in Texas. No checking the crowd for guns or any other sort of weapon.
Ask your republican congress critter, why not?
The sane suggestion, of course, is registration and liability insurance and let Mr. Market sort out all the crazies. Big insurance should love this. And put something that deserve it under the neoliberal pall.
Yeah, we could test the proposition that the only way to stop a bad man with a gun is with a good man with a gun.
Now, I imagine that there are strict checks of all entrants to the debates (does anyone know for sure? Are there any exceptions in the law for campaigns?) – so why no question on the hypocrisy of open and concealed carry not being permitted at the debates….or any campaign gathering – let’s get some data!
Do the good guys get a shoot first opportunity? If only good guys started firing, god could sort out the rest.
The sane suggestion, of course, is registration and liability insurance and let Mr. Market sort out all the crazies
Great idea! We could call it Obama_Gun_Care. After Congress passes it we would find out that it’s mandatory for everyone in the country to purchase it, whether they have guns or not; it would have a substantial deductible for anyone who got shot, and, just to get the Republicans in Congress on-board, make all ammo purchases tax deductible.
LOL, nailed for sure
I like the insurance idea, but it would require insurance companies to write policies for illegal acts, which would make for some interesting fine print reading. Is there any precedent in the insurance grifting trade?? I dunno.
On the dark side , the unintended consequence might be that people intellectually inclined toward discharging handguns in HD parking lots might feel more empowered to do so, Heeeell Jedediah, ah got insurance fo that!
Bottom line, it’s clear that as a minimum the “HD loss prevention officers” should equip themselves with 22cal nailguns. Probably don’t bounce off asphalt as nicely as a jacketed bullet, but that’s a small concession.
FIle with:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N_UuImPL4E
The Wire-Snoop buys a nailgun
Nope, it will be like the Republic convention in Tampa– Total Security Matrix, for the Reds and their posses. No protests allowed except in Free Speech corrals miles from the site. And well screened back entrances to the conveniently located strip clubs like “Mons Venus.” Lap dances all around, for our Family Values Red Doers and Shakers, no pesky cameras to catch their little indiscretions, and no fears of retribution or revolution, from the Right or Farther Right. (Lefties are too squeamish and sensitive to take up arms against that sea of troubles …)
“How Did the Democrats Become Favorites of the Rich?” [New York Times].
‘The majority does not rule — at least not in the causal sense of actually determining policy outcomes. When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites or with organized interests, they generally lose.’
==========================
FIFY: …they always lose
Urggghhhhh on the Great British Bake-off Spoiler. Please provide a spoiler alert next time /
What was wrong with that? I thought it was great!
I think he means that, if someone was intending to watch the show on delay and didn’t know who the winner was, that headline spoiled it for him or her. (In fact, I just told a friend this morning not to search for Great British Bake Off, if he was intending to watch the show later (which he is), because he’ll undoubtedly find out who the winner is.)
Incidentally, according to the Guardian, the final show for 2015 “attracted a record audience of more than 13 million viewers, making it the most-watched TV show [in the UK] of the year.”
On the new Gunz section:
I was really struck by the contrast about how Obama and co are currently showering Al Qaeda associates in Syria with guns, ammo and supplies while Obama is simultaneously running around America lamenting about how Americans have too much access to firearms. It almost seems like there is something contradictory and not at all on the level there.
Anyway, I’m starting to consider the very real possibility that Obama is an NRA shill. Every time he opens his mouth about gun control sales of fire arms go through the roof. And certainly if I were someone in the NRA I’d be finding circuitous ways to fund and encourage this kind of activity.
Former Chicago Public Schools chief Barbara Byrd Bennett indicted on bribery scheme:https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20151008/downtown/barbara-byrd-bennett-former-boss-of-chicago-public-schools-indicted. Rahm appointmee, of course.
One of the charges:
“According to the indictment, on April 29, 2012, Solomon sent an [email to] Byrd-Bennett saying, “When this stint at CPS is done and you are ready to re re re retire, we have a spot waiting for you.”
Isn’t this exactly what Covington&Burling did for Eric Holder, even going so far as to leave a corner office unoccupied, awaiting his return? Of course, they were undoubtedly smart enough not to put it in writing.
There is no honor among petty thieves like BBB and SUPES, I suppose. Good to see her indicted, her reign was a disaster. Wonder if Arne Duncan’s return to Chicago is related. After all he did a lot of the heavy lifting in the ongoing destruction of CPS.
allan, I have the same question, but include Lanny Breuer in that, as well. What a pair!
I continue to be flabbergasted over the fact that we the American public are supposed to be satisfied with an answer of “lack of evidence” & the “economic effect”, following investigations into the TBTJ banks being given as reasons for no prosecutions.
I refuse to in any way believe the argument there was “lack of evidence”, so let’s call the “economic effect” referred to what it really is…
Kaching!
Rahm appointed them? Wow. That’s a shocker.
Oh, gee, Ms. Byrd-Bennett did her best to put as many nails as possible in the coffin of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District first. That was her qualification for the Chicago job. Let it not be said that Rahm hires unqualified executives. She’s a real pro!
I should have followed through on Bennett today, but I had too much popcorn in play. please keep us posted…
‘“I was so excited about Obama. And I still think he’s done amazing things. But I wanted more follow-through,” says King, listing “drone strikes, kill lists, NSA spying on Americans, the expansion of Bush-administration policies, a failed drug war, failed foreign policy,” and the increasing influence of money in politics as his main concerns.’
Concerns? I’d say these are the amazing things!
I thought it was unfortunate there was nothing about finance on the list, though King had clearly been paying attention. (The “kill list” is pretty esoteric, by the standards of the ordinary voter.)
It’s just campaign code for “I can’t say anything nice” about someone who isn’t on the ballot. I’m sure other Bernie staffers would have been less kind.
LOL re Ryssdal’s interview of Candidate Dr. Carson. Not a huge fan of Ryssdal or Marketplace but catch it from time to time. Ryssdal was REALLY kind to Carson who basically couldn’t really answer the question about what he’d do as Pres, if faced with the same debt limit situation. Carson said he’d “make” every govt dept “immediately” cut 4% from their budget, which would almost surely never happen. OTOH, even if such cuts are implemented, Ryssdal was pressing Carson to state plainly what he’d do if such cuts could not be implemented immediately.
Carson’s answer basically boiled down to: argle-bargle CUTS!!11!!
Carson doesn’t *sound* like some of the other lunatics in the GOP, but he certainly doesn’t appear to me to really understand much of anything about how govt work, esp the vast fed bureaucracy. We’ve heard these “just cut” fantasies before… Of course, such cuts would never ever be countenanced for the DoD, but Ryssdal didn’t ask about that (darn).
Carson will do what he is told to do. Just like the rest of them.
Of all the Republicans, he seems the least able to actually deliver a speech. He cant talk. The rest of them can talk. I don’t know how he is so high in the polls when he is unable to give anything resembling a coherent speech.
People like Obama Clinton and even Bush the Younger (The Republicans, at least, loved the way he talked) got the presidency primarily by being able to talk well to crowds. Carson just cant do it, so I think hes the least likely of the candidates in double digits to actually win the presidency or even compete in the early caucuses and such.
I don’t know who is backing him. Moderate republicans who think the others are all crazy? I have no idea.
As for the cuts, he doesn’t seem to understand the difference between cutting off fingernails and cutting off fingers. I don’t see how anyone could have any faith in him when he fails to explain even the most basic of details.
Widespread dissatisfaction with business as usual, and he isn’t Trump who is a known brand and Fiorina who had plenty of critics before her debate poll bumps.
The other candidates are crazy. It’s why Carson seemed so innocuous for so long.
Well he has no experience or qualifications for the job right? I mean I know people hate the beltway types, corrupt as they are, but these people with no experience whatsoever aren’t really qualified are they? If government was run like a business, one look at the resume and it would be like “ok you’ve never done anything even remotely like this job” and into the circular filing bin.
Ryssdahl thinks TPP is peachy.
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/10/marketplace-program-from-nonprofit-npr-pumps-fascism.html
To be sure it is a show called Marketplace, designed for the sort of audience who would tend to think TPP is peachy.
Meanwhile, mass porn lawsuits coming to a TPP signatory near you?
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/10/verizon-fed-up-with-mass-porn-lawsuits-fights-broad-subpoenas/
I really like “rouge engineer”, though I’m told they aren’t usually that big on makeup.
I wonder if makeup is a self-licking ice-cream cone, ie. the more one wears it, the more one needs to wear it?
Kinda like lies, the more one lies the more one needs to lie?
They used to work for Ford. River Rouge plant. I was overly terse.
Re: But Mr. Rubio said that market-based approaches should be employed to tackling climate-based problems
Rubio walks the campaign plank on climate change
Pony’s are so 20th century, everyone gets an Alumicraft Rowboat!
Ultimately aren’t market based solutions instituted through legislated policy?
Or through military procurement and planning documents…
https://thinkpatriot.wordpress.com/2015/10/02/assume-you-are-being-played/
I see no reality in Trump’s campaign. If it is meant to be real by Trump himself, it means that Trump has no clue about running a real Presidential campaign or executing the office.
And the media don’t mention the obvious, as usual.
I think that we should put Margaret Sanger, who was one of the founders of Planned Parenthood.
Watch the wingnut heads explode.
Let’s put Goldman on the $10 note. Emma Goldman.
Mother Jones!
for got to add: Put sanger on the $10 bill.
I’m a huge fan of Margaret Sanger, except for her belief in eugenics. My vote went to Dr. Frances Kelsey, who singlehandedly changed the way the FDA approached drug approvals, in addition to keeping thalidomide from being approved. I also suspect that Kelsey’s insistence on thorough drug studies and tests prior to considering approval also influenced the way most other countries now approach drug reviews.
‘Had anyone heard the phrase “rouge engineer” yet?’
Sure. But most engineering employers are mossbacks who don’t approve of males (85% of engineers) wearing make-up. :(
You toucha my man purse, I breaka you face.
Ha ha. Fixed, thanks.
Re. gunz & insurance: If a gun owner has a homeowners/condo/renters policy, then they probably already have liability coverage for damage or injury caused by the accidental discharge of a firearm. The key word here is “accidental”.
Damage/injury intentionally inflicted (or in some cases “reasonably anticipated”) is not covered by any type of personal liability policy that I know of. Your auto liability insurance does not cover damage/injury if you deliberately ram it into something or someone.
AFIK, there is no insurance coverage available for intentionally caused damage or injury as this would create an unacceptable “moral hazard” (at least in the eyes of any sane & honest underwriter).
Yeah, I’m in the “I” part of the FIRE economy.
Does that include the “intention” of someone other than the owner – eg, a child? What about someone who stole the gun?
Moral hazard would seem to apply only to the policy holder.
Generally, if a gun owner’s child took a gun and used it intentionally on another, the parent would be vicariously responsible for the child’s intentional act. In other words, an injured party (or the estate of) could sue the parent in place of the child for the injuries caused by child’s intentional act. State laws vary as to the extent of such liability. However, there would likely not be insurance coverage regarding such vicarious liability for an intentional act.
However, depending on the facts, a parent could also be sued “directly” under one of several theories of negligence based upon the child’s acquisition and use of the gun. For example, if the gun is left out where a child could easily grab it, there could be negligence claim regarding the care and handling of the gun. There could also be claims of negligent supervision of the child, negligent entrustment (if the child is given the gun), and possibly others.
These direct claims of negligence against the parent would likely be covered under a general liability/negligence policy.
If the gun is stolen, it’s highly unlikely that the owner would face any liability for its use or misuse. People generally aren’t liable for the results of the criminal acts of others over which they had no influence or control. So generally, coverage under the liability policy is a non-issue.
Liability may arise in unusual circumstances (e.g. a dangerous felon is a houseguest), and the owner doesn’t take proper precautions to keep the gun safely kept out of the third person’s control. But the intentional act of a third party adult who stole the gun would not be imputed to the owner.
Yeah, there is no “I” in “FIRE.” Oh, wait….
Re: credit score as indicator of success in romance. See Super-Sad True Love Story by Gary Steyngart, in which everyone’s “hotness” rating, including their credit rating, is available so you can see it on your phone.
About the Bake Off – “This is such an encouraging story”. Yes, very much so, until you scroll down to the comment section and get gobsmacked about all the bigotry and racism.
Well, yeah. There’s that. But I prefer to think of the people cheering her on, eh?
Interesting ruins article. Ruins show us where we compare to history’s high water mark, when ambitions led to the most wasteful exertions.
There are few ruins in the US now, but I imagine there will be plenty in fifty years.
“Likewise, a faded red star on a rusting missile is no longer a threat”
Depends on whether the missile was disarmed!
I wonder if former-Communist Eastern Europeans like looking at pictures of Detroit. Here you go, comrades:
http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1882089,00.html
Or Gary, Indiana, or any other decaying Rust Belt city whose industries up and left.
A loud whisper of things to come for everyone’s hometown?
Popcorn alert: Bill Gross sues Pimco for $200 million over forced ouster
Barney Frank’s position on reinstating Glass-Steagall is somewhat more nuanced than the ibtimes article suggests:
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/248674-barney-frank-warren-wrong-on-glass-steagall
I think Frank’s point is that reinstating Glass Steagall wouldn’t be enough to solve the financial industry’s problems, because there would still be banks that are too big to fail. Well, yeah, of course. There are plenty of other things that need to be done, and I’m sure Sen. Warren knows that. But reinstating Glass Steagall is one of the many steps that need to be taken.
Barney Frank is more wrong than Elizabeth Warren is.
…it’s not the financial industry that has ” problems “– it’s the rest of us non-Galtians that don’t seem fit to prosper oreven survive in the Great Ocean of Money…
Graydon Carter seems to think that Trump is a joke whereas Hillary is a serious candidate with an image problem. Given this low information skew, I’m not sure Carter’s entitled to be quite so snooty. How about conceding that both candidates are a joke but Trump seems to be the only one with a sense of humor.
It’s true that Vanity Fair has managed to snag a couple of decent writers including the great James Wolcott, but then everyone has to eat. The mag itself is utterly trivial. So should the proprietor of a high end gossip magazine be giving the guy with the giant letters on his plane the high hat? When did the ink stained drudges become so self important? The public will soon enough decide for itself about Trump and all his competitors and only one will be left standing. Our journo arbiters, on the other hand, go on forever until they drop in the traces like Broder or Tim Russert.
I thought it was interesting that years later the sobriquet still burned in Trump’s memory….
Well “short-fingered vulgarian” did become sorta famous. You could say Trump is being peevish or maybe he’s just playing along with the joke. All this umbrageousness gets him more ink.
Re. Trump’s tax proposal:
If Apple didn’t hold $181B overseas, it would owe $59B in US taxes | Ars Technica
This is the reason the CBO ‘analysis’ of da Trumpsta’s tax proposal is worthless – if companies actually *paid* a loophole-free 15% on profits that would represent a rather large net revenue *gain*, and would also be fairer to small businesses, which [a] have all the corporate-tax paperwork burden but lack the global scale required to game the system in the above way, and [b] create most new jobs, especially of the rather crucial ‘onshore’ variety. Not that I’m saying a President Trump wouldn’t succumb to lobbyist-induced loophole-itis, but given his non-big-money-beholden-ness we shouldn’t assume it in his case.
And frankly, among the dismal, psychopath-riddled GOP field I’d take the short-fingered vulgarian over the bankster-owned long-fingered crooks.
(However, as long as there is a credible alternative in Bernie Sanders my choice of GOP candidates will be ‘none of the above’.)
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Unrelatedly, re. “The one number that’s eerily good at predicting your success in love | WaPo”, in my case I think my Cupid coefficient (not to be confused with my cupidity coefficient – though the alleged ‘one number’ hypothesis a la WaPo would seem to imply a strong correlation between those two metrics) is not linked to my credit score, since I insist on living the debt-free life, but rather the imaginary constant raised to itself, i^i. At the risk of outing myself as a math geek, that means that I do in fact have a real chance at true love, but a much smaller one than one might imagine based on my credit score.
pbs newshr lead story.. McCarthy B0ner Jr withdrawing from the House Speaker race, & that Paul Ryan might be the candidate.
I am worried about Paul Ryan, iirc Ryan & 0bama are both fellow Pete Peterson Whorez working on the Grand Ripoff.
Yes, Ryan is horrible, which is why they could all accept him; but he says he doesn’t want the job. And who would?
RE: “How Revolution Messaging has “been working to translate grassroots enthusiasm for Sanders into dollars”
Can someone tell me what happens to all the money Bernie rakes in if/when he doesn’t get the nomination?
I’m aware he’s promised to not run as an independent (or whatever) against whoever IS nominated. But I can’t seem to find a clear answer on the campaign contribution issue.
The money can go to:
-any future campaign committee for the same candidate
-state and local part committees (unlimited), probably the DNC
-donations to federal candidates are capped as if the candidate with the leftover funds made a personal donation
-money can be doled out to staff; I believe Obama paid his organizers through the end of the year with his extra money in 2008. Does anyone remember his infomercial?
-the money can be spent on post campaign incidentals. I’m pretty certain the Obama campaign “Obama for America” paid for his stuff to be moved into the White House.
Hillary in 2008 had a huge campaign debt because much of her donations were pledges, not cash. The great bundlers who become ambassadors raise nothing but pledges until October anyway. What’s left over is usually pretty small. The DNC tries to help retire the debt for candidates.
the plant/flower is plumbago
…or quite possibly Phlox paniculata? Common name Garden Phlox
Possibly the cultivar “Blue Ice”? The plumbago spp. has flower petals that are slightly different.
Re the Ryssdal interview of Carson:
I listened to that also, but I thought Ryssdal was actually rougher on Dr. Ben than many media shills have been. At the end he got Carson to erupt about how he’d be so tough, he’d go to war with everyone just to prove the US hasn’t lost her mojo [gulp] and that he’d start by dealing “much more firmly with Putin” to the point that Putin wouldn’t know what hit him (all quotations paraphrased). So Kai circled back around and asked ” so you’re going to do this, this, this, that, and go to war with everyone, and you’re going to cut 3-4%?” To which Carson answered, “People have been telling me all my life that the things I aim to do are impossible.” All in his gentle semi-tranquilized tone.
This is the kind of crazy that could keep one up at night.
pretty succinct
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcy7qV-BGF4
Was the Civil War About Slavery?
What caused the Civil War? Did the North care about abolishing slavery? Did the South secede because of slavery? Or was it about something else entirely…perhaps states’ rights? Colonel Ty Seidule, Professor of History at the United States Military Academy at West Point, settles the debate.
Re “Why free markets make a fool of us” article.
There are some good lines/concepts in Akerlof and Shillers book that could be levered to push back against free market neoliberal beliefs. I like the “phishers and phools” concept to explain what is really happening.
” the United States has suffered from false and skewed claims that fail to account for the fact that free markets make people free not only to choose but also “free to phish, and free to be phished. Ignorance of those truths is a recipe for disaster.”
“Like magicians and pickpockets, phishermen are able to take advantage of “an errant focus by the phool.”
We need a simple concept or line that succinctly explains what is really going in the free market (“phishers and phools”). Imagine if that concept got the same level of marketing of say a Coke or McDonalds campaign. Of course the problem is getting people to understand they are the phool (self denial, I’m not that stupid), not just the other guy standing next them. But the sooner they realise it the better off they will be.
When I read about so-called men like Zeines and Hurwitz, I do wonder why mass shooters are so indiscriminate and unjust in selecting targets? When do we get to have a feel-good shooting of a large gathering of lizards in human form, like these guys? Apologies to the vast majority of lizards out there who are just trying to get by.
/sarc (or is it?)
Re: VW: “[Michael Horn]: ‘This was a couple of software engineers who put this in for whatever reason” (the defeat device). Not credible. Isn’t VW bound by SOX reporting requirements, which mandates a change management procedure to be followed for all software changes, including proper management approvals? I found links on line for VW’s SOX filings, so I think it’s true.
Re: credit score: long lasting relationships are NOT what people are after – that isnt “success”!!
Re: Credit score and relationships
This is interesting, but I would argue that in the age of Tinder people see hookups as the goal, relationship is the fallback option ie failure (see disruption chart here :
http://applicoinc.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2.png )
Let’s face it – matches everything else in our society: people want shallow and easy. Deep is “boring”. Never mind the devastating consequences of a society that is an inch deep on all dimensions..