tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81294571519583802722024-02-07T17:09:09.339-08:00A Reasonable BlogBeloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-11026194788359531852016-11-15T15:01:00.001-08:002016-11-15T15:06:12.822-08:00They were careless people<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj021HHthoyEW9CJ_8z3MT9ebxs09f0-rosCFO_uMTFe2RAKHKDDLzAbEb-NKEubaaqDsHFGCanguXoIUnKepHf8-Nm_quVBiXP7fzxPNK_rGsfzThhIFs9ceSLbfXfws0sT0a6jS8vhbuB/s1600/0xj5xbp.jpg"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj021HHthoyEW9CJ_8z3MT9ebxs09f0-rosCFO_uMTFe2RAKHKDDLzAbEb-NKEubaaqDsHFGCanguXoIUnKepHf8-Nm_quVBiXP7fzxPNK_rGsfzThhIFs9ceSLbfXfws0sT0a6jS8vhbuB/s640/0xj5xbp.jpg" width="560" /></a></div>
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To paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald:<br />
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“They were careless people, the Clintons—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”</div>
Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-26681956760608159342016-05-09T08:36:00.002-07:002016-05-09T08:37:44.223-07:00The Dems enable TrumpLet's be honest here. If the Democrats had picked a reasonable candidate, someone who wasn't hopelessly tainted with Wall Street money, someone not tied to some of the worst decisions regarding working peoples financial lives and foreign war making in recent history, someone who didn't repel young women voters with her louche spouse this wouldn't be a contest. Instead they have chosen Hillary. If Trump becomes president, no one will be more responsible than the Democrat establishment. <br />
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There were alternatives. Kirsten Gillibrand would crush Trump. The endemic corruption of the Democrat establishment makes them blind to how they are perceived by ordinary voters. As a nominally left wing party the Democrats are most responsible for the economic fortunes of the working and middle classes. They have been a chronic failure in this stewardship and no one is more closely associated with this failure than the Clintons. If Trump wins, the people most responsible will be those apparatchiks of the financial industry who 'cleared the field' for Hillary Clinton, which is almost all of the Democrat establishment.Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-1201974065403309282016-02-08T12:37:00.000-08:002016-02-08T12:37:10.611-08:00How the System Works"I will tell you that our system is broken. I gave to many people. Before this, before two months ago, I was a businessman. I give to everybody. When they call, I give. And you know what? When I need something from them, two years later, three years later, I call them. They are there for me. And that's a broken system." - D.J. TrumpBeloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-22870038517688463502015-10-09T17:33:00.001-07:002015-10-09T17:33:34.536-07:00Race-Baiting Crackpot Gives InterviewDrudge has become very weird. From an interview with Alex Jones:<div>
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"We never really heard of ISIS until recently and I remember when that name first started coming up. Do you know that it was designed to be confused with Darrell Issa? Did you know that's what it was. Because Darrell Issa was the enemy at the time of this administration. [...] They came up with the name ISIS to be confused with Darrell Issa. I'm really being hinest with you. I remember the first time Christiane Amanpour sputtered out this word ISIS thinking did she get that one? [...] And then the President going it's not even ISIS, it's ISIL or IS. This Dr. Seuss. This is madness."</div>
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One has to assume that he takes too many drugs. </div>
Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-4283059218467131592015-06-22T07:42:00.000-07:002015-06-22T07:44:26.142-07:00No surprise here<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieNXztNQPkYvE3KZas9mT1v6qWPmQHfS4EfJSInJ88OqQ1lvTM7U2PO7so3B6HT7LtAWOmOBWlPbvYtrAzznyoZTlvcDHK0dNkzbZxStSesQDN_v-La8mte1cvNuG2rThEmd1G5G-jDpBY/s1600/ceo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieNXztNQPkYvE3KZas9mT1v6qWPmQHfS4EfJSInJ88OqQ1lvTM7U2PO7so3B6HT7LtAWOmOBWlPbvYtrAzznyoZTlvcDHK0dNkzbZxStSesQDN_v-La8mte1cvNuG2rThEmd1G5G-jDpBY/s640/ceo.jpg" width="540" /></a></div>
Data from <a href="http://www.epi.org/publication/top-ceos-make-300-times-more-than-workers-pay-growth-surpasses-market-gains-and-the-rest-of-the-0-1-percent/">here</a>.Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-4105789987615433172015-06-19T18:13:00.001-07:002015-06-19T18:14:25.334-07:00The future is not here, yet<div id="fb-root">
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They cannot stop us. They cannot stop the future. At the recent DARPA Robotics Challenge, things didn't always go as planned...<br />
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Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-43618100343890581202015-03-29T10:20:00.003-07:002015-03-29T10:20:51.790-07:00Gun ControlNSFW.<script height="297px" src="http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.js#pbid=a637d53c5c0a43c7bf4e342886b9d8b0&ec=l4Ym04dDr8ARVZd3Ro4R4oS9YVyqSZJs" width="529px"></script>Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-62473771268945515632015-01-24T09:43:00.000-08:002015-01-24T10:14:14.536-08:00Beautiful Robot<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Hox26aaWOBU?rel=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-15312183330535048952015-01-23T11:18:00.000-08:002015-01-23T11:18:52.930-08:00The Futility of the War on Drugs ... Part 1,005,456<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJmtyLLS-cULMFB0OfdqPd3a4Arm1_KSPnnESqQLNq0IItgc5ORTjuXhhlKIGAsqhs978Q_SHYQPlYyOe7t4ukxNRPLFbcXdRTMprAlTe_I3yh55p1-lKkBVK1ZzBQmo7OA294ByCl13B/s1600/40Years0fDrugWarFailure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJmtyLLS-cULMFB0OfdqPd3a4Arm1_KSPnnESqQLNq0IItgc5ORTjuXhhlKIGAsqhs978Q_SHYQPlYyOe7t4ukxNRPLFbcXdRTMprAlTe_I3yh55p1-lKkBVK1ZzBQmo7OA294ByCl13B/s1600/40Years0fDrugWarFailure.jpg" height="237" width="400" /></a></div>
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Precis of Johann Hari's new book on the drug war, 'Chasing The Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs' can be found <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-hari/the-real-cause-of-addicti_b_6506936.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular">here</a>. Graph from <a href="http://www.mattgroff.com/questions-on-the-1315-project-chart/">here</a>.Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-88115529077250552222015-01-10T18:43:00.000-08:002015-01-10T19:00:51.570-08:00The Insouciance of the Machines<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/NXWOiEzQ89A?rel=0&showinfo=0" width="560"></iframe>Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-7917410065525881652014-12-29T07:33:00.002-08:002014-12-29T07:33:47.303-08:00Perception ... Reality<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghby6kIVYd481M-l4h-altlLuNXTAUWddccNAaU_zqXUttv6s_LKqnpY2_QenkRwD8S5eo8PGPlqMowfPC3QPEhqNFuqa_thrbBtPpTn_W0WuhZ_dKrySB5eTlaWatb0J2tQQD61N-G5dT/s1600/stupid-sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghby6kIVYd481M-l4h-altlLuNXTAUWddccNAaU_zqXUttv6s_LKqnpY2_QenkRwD8S5eo8PGPlqMowfPC3QPEhqNFuqa_thrbBtPpTn_W0WuhZ_dKrySB5eTlaWatb0J2tQQD61N-G5dT/s1600/stupid-sign.jpg" height="232" width="320" /></a></div>
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Under Obama 6.7 million private sector jobs have been created compared to 3.1 million under George W. Bush after six years in office. There has been a reduction of 600,000 in government employment under Obama compared to an increase of 1.2 million under Bush in the same time period. Discussion <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/29/opinion/paul-krugman-the-obama-recovery.html?ref=opinion&_r=0">here</a>.Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-17180815657875005292014-12-26T09:25:00.001-08:002014-12-30T09:03:45.619-08:00Bush, the Housing Bubble and the Great Recession<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxe40KiSvGM3ARi2A0AwxwlAaIRi7OPsO8dZRrdel73PVtah7gBwSdtgO2cQp3KJNPixOA6bkvx6SUKT3mRIo8nSg8EG8aXM1i2wM8REVlxXpRi5ycEHI3RnxjxfZvBg-LR9e011aPmlkX/s1600/NHSNov2014.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxe40KiSvGM3ARi2A0AwxwlAaIRi7OPsO8dZRrdel73PVtah7gBwSdtgO2cQp3KJNPixOA6bkvx6SUKT3mRIo8nSg8EG8aXM1i2wM8REVlxXpRi5ycEHI3RnxjxfZvBg-LR9e011aPmlkX/s320/NHSNov2014.PNG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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Artificially pump up the housing market to make your presidency look good and what do you get? Ireland, on a massive scale. Data from <a href="http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2014/12/new-home-sales-at-438000-annual-rate-in.html">Calculated Risk</a>.Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-60695253352960938682014-12-26T07:11:00.000-08:002014-12-26T07:12:23.414-08:00Damn I make this tiara look good<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXRwzD8bH10HJ9zRqvuK3BrZkJZ3xJVCUq79r7K_sLqmGAh6yr_CWuuainFKjCmBoAqszPrb_Ud4XDGqiiUW2fZ6GAOLFzdmGj71ZLcUlE5pIeDbqfb6pPUeZ0YOnBFrcjSqQ92oJlUiE/s1600/tiara.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXRwzD8bH10HJ9zRqvuK3BrZkJZ3xJVCUq79r7K_sLqmGAh6yr_CWuuainFKjCmBoAqszPrb_Ud4XDGqiiUW2fZ6GAOLFzdmGj71ZLcUlE5pIeDbqfb6pPUeZ0YOnBFrcjSqQ92oJlUiE/s1600/tiara.jpg" height="310" width="560" /></a></div>
<br />Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-11434619840392646672014-12-25T14:13:00.000-08:002014-12-25T17:02:47.782-08:00I've been everywhere, man.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijU6YKeFUcyi23DvaAewtBHim7KGWdbqM-NDjqJ6zqZQRuhb0CtR7p5qC0sYD7Is-rNs2PFF0NLLYN9a8ZLvyg2I2qL2-dQLuCOD-PNBchVRltIeZy4VVupEZbLYrwmgGh85u41b0AgYL3/s1600/map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijU6YKeFUcyi23DvaAewtBHim7KGWdbqM-NDjqJ6zqZQRuhb0CtR7p5qC0sYD7Is-rNs2PFF0NLLYN9a8ZLvyg2I2qL2-dQLuCOD-PNBchVRltIeZy4VVupEZbLYrwmgGh85u41b0AgYL3/s1600/map.png" height="400" width="560" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/6/24/5835320/map-in-the-whole-world-only-these-five-countries-escaped-european">Max Fisher</a> states that, almost alone among nations, Korea and Japan escaped european colonization. While the US is clearly not part of Europe, the majority of its people are of european ethnicity and Japan and Korea have been under strong US influence and considerable control for more than half a century.Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-43506753354405624342014-12-24T18:04:00.002-08:002014-12-24T18:05:47.572-08:00Where does morality come from?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDeFw27BJ73cyZ2TL1FIY4fFMRcCFl45wOyERXDXye8wo5e1fRrwO8QzFyRd2yTCzZzVnNsJsuo4aOLkcYedOuufyiXC6KN9LYVGH2lCBsyw1EoYJX-qo8y6J98w0yX9fIyoBgaCAH27V/s1600/12-20-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDeFw27BJ73cyZ2TL1FIY4fFMRcCFl45wOyERXDXye8wo5e1fRrwO8QzFyRd2yTCzZzVnNsJsuo4aOLkcYedOuufyiXC6KN9LYVGH2lCBsyw1EoYJX-qo8y6J98w0yX9fIyoBgaCAH27V/s1600/12-20-14.jpg" height="300" width="550" /></a></div>
Apparently not from religion.Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-86651995111007552282014-12-14T10:57:00.004-08:002014-12-14T11:08:15.966-08:00When you've lost the Wall Street Journal ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NaPOIbawQXz9ZxlLmBgGWgFgVEld4OXtUL8eYYNQMwaRIhygIGhHdJOduWLfzzjHmXwB8H5L8-1JIB1m87GB2_ECfR026Heu3pNFFXe1gUNJ1NE_aFKQjEJ5irLdqaTudK5DE8iakbI8/s1600/1280px-Leech_in_the_point.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NaPOIbawQXz9ZxlLmBgGWgFgVEld4OXtUL8eYYNQMwaRIhygIGhHdJOduWLfzzjHmXwB8H5L8-1JIB1m87GB2_ECfR026Heu3pNFFXe1gUNJ1NE_aFKQjEJ5irLdqaTudK5DE8iakbI8/s1600/1280px-Leech_in_the_point.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Matt Taibbi once described a major Wall Street financial firm as a “great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money.” If anything this description falls short of capturing the putrid essence of the finance industry. Manufacturing and R&D are the lifeblood of great nations. Wall Street is steadily killing them off. The day approaches when we will be left with only lawyers and financiers, the parasites without the host. We will have become a larger version of Britain, an empty shell of a once great state.<br />
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There has been almost no effective push-back against these bloodsuckers. Politicians from both parties are primarily lawyers, who wouldn't know the meaning of productive work if it bit them in the ass, and, with few exceptions, are in debt to the financiers for their electoral campaign spending. Surprisingly, a small push back has come from the Wall Street Journal, belatedly recognizing that the death of the host is not good for the business of the parasites. One article is from <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/michael-dell-going-private-is-paying-off-for-dell-1416872851">Michael Dell</a>, of Dell computers, describing the baleful effect on his company of short term investor interests.<br />
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The second article is by William Galston, and is subtitled, '<a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/william-galston-shareholder-value-is-hurting-workers-1418169901">Financiers fixated on the short-term are forcing CEOs into decisions that are bad for the country</a>'. An unbiased look at the country's arc over the last thirty years is all that is required to see the truth of this statement. The maximization of shareholder value by activist investors comes at the cost of long-term prosperity for the company and ultimately for the country. At present we are on a path to irrelevancy. Once our technical edge is completely eroded we will no longer be a great nation, irrespective of how many nukes we possess. Just look at Russia.<br />
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N.B. Both articles can be accessed by pasting their titles into Google.</div>
Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-60665890654540837902014-12-07T11:32:00.000-08:002014-12-08T16:17:56.517-08:00Police safety<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJghj7LX4N5vvDA_xipjns7dM1RLioKSH9d1ubCYTVzDT7MU4yNoOkJjGeBwpA4js6zXFrGl60ULMWZvM357hyphenhyphenEsz2DZY7l4uLZbeFQTDaZbiC2FnmMuzKqwkCAcNebLwJ_KDOUFJqmVL/s1600/1411167883575_wps_5_A_NJ_police_car_crashed_i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJghj7LX4N5vvDA_xipjns7dM1RLioKSH9d1ubCYTVzDT7MU4yNoOkJjGeBwpA4js6zXFrGl60ULMWZvM357hyphenhyphenEsz2DZY7l4uLZbeFQTDaZbiC2FnmMuzKqwkCAcNebLwJ_KDOUFJqmVL/s1600/1411167883575_wps_5_A_NJ_police_car_crashed_i.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
The murder rate for police in 2013 was <a href="http://fee.org/blog/detail/by-the-numbers-how-dangerous-is-it-to-be-a-cop">well below</a> the national average, suggesting that they are not in any unusual danger and should restrain their trigger happy ways. It is a difficult job but not a particularly dangerous one, despite this being a major rationale for their high salaries.<br />
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A bigger problem is that they are rarely in danger of facing any consequences for their actions. There is an inherent conflict of interest when a local prosecuting attorney is responsible for an investigation into homicides by the police with whom he/she regularly works. At a minimum, there has to be greater distance between the police and those responsible for investigating their alleged or actual malfeasance. This is just simple commonsense. If the police know beforehand that there will be no consequences for their actions, a perception that recent events strongly confirm, what is their motivation to act in a prudent way when it comes to the safety of their fellow citizens? More discussion <a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120478/eric-garner-police-officer-shouldve-been-investigated-independently">here </a>and <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/12/05/who-prosecutes-the-police-perceptions-of-bias-in-police-misconduct-investigations-and-a-possible-remedy/">here</a>.Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-33750029359288605922014-12-07T09:36:00.005-08:002014-12-08T16:18:20.383-08:00Why the enormous disparity?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiKBinDEAvM4mMp_ncjQ5QlAN63rnGxBT-zKjHdrkCjY_IJwfCAkYT2nXDSCYG9L77391YTCsHMNIasoc2_mQxd2XonvcGe-W9r7v3Umlfl5bCcyN29a6xDWjGmUBPXkQ7BMgLLBxojZX/s1600/lethal-shootings.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiKBinDEAvM4mMp_ncjQ5QlAN63rnGxBT-zKjHdrkCjY_IJwfCAkYT2nXDSCYG9L77391YTCsHMNIasoc2_mQxd2XonvcGe-W9r7v3Umlfl5bCcyN29a6xDWjGmUBPXkQ7BMgLLBxojZX/s400/lethal-shootings.png" height="254" width="480" /></a></div>
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Context <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21613272-police-missouri-suburb-demonstrate-how-not-quell-riot-overkill">here </a>and <a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/11/26/7292963/gun-control-police-shootings">here</a>.</div>
Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-68801573830667034262014-11-12T08:24:00.003-08:002014-11-12T08:27:33.069-08:00Reagan's Legacy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3x7TPaKZL4sYyYBjzbfLR_xRjLqxPYyPhFdzWxpUeMzfztVvz2-hB0GLruiSy-0GbPXFk2eCs1pR0R1RKsEE9fa6ry0rrmqDTzmh414qQjOYLDXyGXC5GWSuIhiOFUK-Suu6Gdkcotv8/s1600/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3x7TPaKZL4sYyYBjzbfLR_xRjLqxPYyPhFdzWxpUeMzfztVvz2-hB0GLruiSy-0GbPXFk2eCs1pR0R1RKsEE9fa6ry0rrmqDTzmh414qQjOYLDXyGXC5GWSuIhiOFUK-Suu6Gdkcotv8/s640/2.png" width="560" /></a></div>
It ain't pretty. Details <a href="http://www.epi.org/publication/ib330-productivity-vs-compensation/">here</a>.Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-82159366436144866702014-11-09T07:50:00.001-08:002014-11-11T08:12:35.130-08:00Crazy Shit Wingers Believe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivA99PS_H_u3J76tWA5AeJUehgu0IySixJN4oFXopcVpZUb-y2QpOy0uTBi8DjWsFxnYwf1XMgZqV9ifevNzfzKRzdppczfB21gGdSYCHhmVKb1F7ODfj3ZarzCKl9tibBrII2VXZflLIq/s1600/LSAT+Blog+Diary+LSAT+Pure+Evil+No.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivA99PS_H_u3J76tWA5AeJUehgu0IySixJN4oFXopcVpZUb-y2QpOy0uTBi8DjWsFxnYwf1XMgZqV9ifevNzfzKRzdppczfB21gGdSYCHhmVKb1F7ODfj3ZarzCKl9tibBrII2VXZflLIq/s1600/LSAT+Blog+Diary+LSAT+Pure+Evil+No.jpg" height="166" width="320" /></a></div>
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Wingers believe that college professors are evil Machiavellian manipulators of their children's thoughts, reliably turning them into liberals during a few hours of contact each week.<br />
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College professors trend liberal, young people trend liberal, correlation is not causation.<br />
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If this particular belief were actually true then right wing parents must have failed to introduce adequate critical thinking skills and/or failed to provide convincing support for their own beliefs, despite years of intimate contact with their children. Otherwise, their children would not be so susceptible to the wiles of professors who can apparently simultaneously beat the intricacies of single-variable calculus into the skulls of their progeny while also inculcating them with Marxist ideology. </div>
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Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-84144798154786373642014-11-09T07:18:00.002-08:002014-11-09T13:33:25.060-08:00What is the Difference between the Financial and Palm Reading Industries? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioq03-ZwmNRJA56xWX2B0CKzY0Y3L1vNAV1h88HxhZPFLAoIPayE6TiGWm4Xb5BnG1A4DxmJ2j6gkIwixk1pNTd5E8Ki8EP9PcOO4MmDLXfBQ1vNq_VUxWbzla4MsvGsG87o0XN5l3whKd/s1600/Businessman-wearing-a-dunce-hat-150x150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioq03-ZwmNRJA56xWX2B0CKzY0Y3L1vNAV1h88HxhZPFLAoIPayE6TiGWm4Xb5BnG1A4DxmJ2j6gkIwixk1pNTd5E8Ki8EP9PcOO4MmDLXfBQ1vNq_VUxWbzla4MsvGsG87o0XN5l3whKd/s1600/Businessman-wearing-a-dunce-hat-150x150.jpg" /></a></div>
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Nothing other than the fees. In a <a href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w20592.pdf">meta study</a> of financial research Campbell R. Harvey and colleagues, find that "most claimed research findings in financial economics are likely false." Not, that much research is false, or a majority of research is false, but most is false.<br />
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Why is this? Basic statistics. All the studies examined fail to correct for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_comparisons_problem">multiple comparisons problem</a> in their statistical testing and confound this by using very loose criteria for statistical significance.<br />
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This problem is further exacerbated by the inability to test hypotheses with rigorous experimental studies. Correlative studies plus faulty statistics equals nonsense.Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-85074589428998847682014-07-26T07:19:00.000-07:002014-07-27T05:01:16.894-07:00Graph Humor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFX7NrONBczVcTXWpyDFZaZIXGhWjS0bwKWJjEoSiCGLmPHYTRfrDCF1TNo9yZMhQLp8emCycNT8W1A72e_5eSiJ4bp16Q71H6DityUhbMCu7hqLxbvNRXQdbuoUGphGdT39u8ptOHrz86/s1600/graph2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFX7NrONBczVcTXWpyDFZaZIXGhWjS0bwKWJjEoSiCGLmPHYTRfrDCF1TNo9yZMhQLp8emCycNT8W1A72e_5eSiJ4bp16Q71H6DityUhbMCu7hqLxbvNRXQdbuoUGphGdT39u8ptOHrz86/s1600/graph2.png" height="379" width="400" /></a></div>
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The relationship between CEO pay and stock return. The jokes on us. Interactive version <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-22/for-ceos-correlation-between-pay-and-stock-performance-is-pretty-random">here</a>.Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-748666083293356272014-07-25T17:24:00.000-07:002014-08-01T16:02:27.703-07:00Am I a shallow person ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXK9gCNNdCA3WpeGYMo8wv9epKZsauP7z2GuNXQwymNuPB34yZ-KjV5ykn5IWPB8Fqlwf4iwIH0dE_hOTGfY5SboWuSFrFsShkrugc3n_fUq_E2j-oERVMYRabrr1ugXFbG3PyT6eWd5jI/s1600/lea+gut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXK9gCNNdCA3WpeGYMo8wv9epKZsauP7z2GuNXQwymNuPB34yZ-KjV5ykn5IWPB8Fqlwf4iwIH0dE_hOTGfY5SboWuSFrFsShkrugc3n_fUq_E2j-oERVMYRabrr1ugXFbG3PyT6eWd5jI/s1600/lea+gut.png" height="442" width="560" /></a></div>
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if I gain some pleasure from the fact that my gut is no bigger than Lea's?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDCiMpqvxev5mII9YZ7s2cRZ3Au3GayCvvi3GEggF0aZjjqOTohdNtEGbuL1TTOyvNRUVxVXJw2YoVLELFNVk2IjQ7ljoaQtbzRjhC8fei470htdj11SQshc7NobMzzV6JZ00DonwFSeA/s1600/leo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDCiMpqvxev5mII9YZ7s2cRZ3Au3GayCvvi3GEggF0aZjjqOTohdNtEGbuL1TTOyvNRUVxVXJw2YoVLELFNVk2IjQ7ljoaQtbzRjhC8fei470htdj11SQshc7NobMzzV6JZ00DonwFSeA/s1600/leo.png" height="400" width="246" /></a></div>
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And smaller than Leo's.<br />
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Let us praise the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ushome/index.html">Daily Mail</a> and its never-ending obsession with the physical flaws of our pulchritudinous stars.Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-70463895821119937192014-07-23T17:28:00.001-07:002014-07-25T17:32:02.803-07:00Is it such a horrific idea that we might teach math the way math has always been taught?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhflKhLHNPlHulIS1_d7mn8kBfLb1vwdmHnzDFpjUjNw85egu5GvROlZb5-CK0n95Q43hNyqK75AASi6L_5cYvTyP_6mCn6H581vqVP9br9uwNSCI5KD9iWUMnKxZNgNvoTQsl9zeAZc6rN/s1600/math-fuck-this-shit-i-will-be-a-stripper.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhflKhLHNPlHulIS1_d7mn8kBfLb1vwdmHnzDFpjUjNw85egu5GvROlZb5-CK0n95Q43hNyqK75AASi6L_5cYvTyP_6mCn6H581vqVP9br9uwNSCI5KD9iWUMnKxZNgNvoTQsl9zeAZc6rN/s1600/math-fuck-this-shit-i-will-be-a-stripper.png" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.redstate.com/2014/04/15/the-common-core-problem/">Erick Erickson</a>, of Red State, posed the question, is it such 'a horrific idea that we might teach math the way math has always been taught?' The answer is yes. Our citizens have an appalling inability to understand and put into practice even very basic math concepts and the weak performance of our school students on international tests, if anything, understates the problem. This is one area where real conservatism, the desire to retain the 'old ways', produces a deeply flawed analysis. The old ways produce results that suck.<br />
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Much is made of the inadequacies of teachers but the growing resistance to the Common Core reveals the inadequacy of parents. To argue, as Erick Erickson does, that parents cannot understand grade school math problems is more revealing than he appears to understand. Erickson is incredulous that common core supporters quote studies claiming that children whose parents do not help them with homework will, over the long term, out perform children whose parents do help them. Sadly, these studies are all too believable. Generational change in something as central and contentious as math education will inevitably be disruptive and slow but the status quo is unsustainable if we wish to remain a first rank nation.Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129457151958380272.post-57792281922807564992014-07-12T09:56:00.004-07:002014-07-12T15:57:30.290-07:00The Great Recession and Material Discontent<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGn2ZeABXgDt4cRNZIjHN6B7lLaA4SUwwTFRU-Tje8oR-brOGWXSYujWsMzYT7VmwHX-izEY8486JWZPEIVUSpr50q1znwt7gkY5NXAzu4AJMdrM2BEy7fxT85SBo7TtJJd7oKGxWWjORD/s1600/debt.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGn2ZeABXgDt4cRNZIjHN6B7lLaA4SUwwTFRU-Tje8oR-brOGWXSYujWsMzYT7VmwHX-izEY8486JWZPEIVUSpr50q1znwt7gkY5NXAzu4AJMdrM2BEy7fxT85SBo7TtJJd7oKGxWWjORD/s1600/debt.png" height="320" width="480" /></a></div>
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The causes of the Great Recession have been subject to much fruitless debate. A recent book <i><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/house-of-debt-atif-mian/1117105831?ean=9780226081946">House of Debt</a></i> by Atif Mian and Amir Sufi and a <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/jul/10/geithner-does-he-pass-test/?insrc=hpma">review</a> of Timothy Geithner's book <i>Stress Test</i> by Paul Krugman provide some of the most convincing analysis to date. Geithner's book itself focuses on the bank run that triggered the recession and the steps taken to restore confidence but, as Krugman's review makes clear, although the recovery of confidence in the financial markets was achieved relatively quickly, and surprisingly cheaply, a full recovery from the Great Recession has yet to be achieved. Krugman is critical of the narrowness of Geithner's vision in approaching this problem since it is clear that the Great Recession was not simply due to the loss of confidence in the financial system. The fundamental problem appears to have been the doubling in household debt between 2000 and 2007. It has taken years to begin to clear this debt load and the task is still incomplete.<br />
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Debt is a financial issue but it is also a moral problem. We have been sold a bill of goods by our leaders, that wages could stagnate for decades but our living standard would continue to rise. The inherent contradiction was inevitably going to cause chaos. Our leadership was unwilling to admit that middle and lower class wages have stagnated, in large part due to their actions, and they turned a blind eye to the house of cards being constructed from the staggering increases in personal debt during the lead up to the Great Recession. They seemed to believe that things would be fine as long as they weren't actually leading the charge when the stampeding herd finally arrived at the cliff. Although Bush II fully deserved his own fall from the cliff, a failure of this magnitude had many fathers.Beloved Commenter AReasonableManhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14139261862363663232noreply@blogger.com0