Basically, US postwar economic history falls into two parts: an era of high taxes on the rich and extensive regulation, during which living standards experienced extraordinary growth; and an era of low taxes on the rich and deregulation, during which living standards for most Americans rose fitfully at best. From Down The Memory Hole –… Continue reading Down The Memory Hole
Year: 2010
The Principles of Rand Paul
No ideology survives the collision with real-world politics perfectly intact. General principles have to bend to accommodate the complexities of history, and justice is sometimes better served by compromise than by zealous intellectual consistency. This was all that Rand Paul needed to admit, after his victory in Kentuckys Republican Senate primary, when NPR and Rachel… Continue reading The Principles of Rand Paul
Andrew Wakefield Has Given 4,000 Brits The Measles
The decade-plus long vacctivist scare that followed resulted in vaccination rates dropping significantly in the UK, which is followed by a spike in measles cases. Though I’m sure Wakefield’s supporters will claim these two things are just a coincidence. Andrew Wakefield Has Given 4,000 Brits The Measles – Daddy Types Great blog post on the… Continue reading Andrew Wakefield Has Given 4,000 Brits The Measles
The Beauty of Diversity, and Sea Slugs
In the Philippines, Terry Gosliner of the California Academy of Sciences prepares for a week of diving to study nudibranchs, or sea slugs. … one of the few places in the western Pacific where you can say that the reefs are in better shape now than they used to be. That is in large measure… Continue reading The Beauty of Diversity, and Sea Slugs
My Country, Tis of Me
What is most irksome about the Tea Party Patriots is their expropriation of the word patriot, with the implication that if you disagree with them, youre not a patriot, or at least youre less patriotic than they are. Without getting all ask-notty about it, I think a movement labeling itself patriotic should have some obligation… Continue reading My Country, Tis of Me
Have aliens hijacked Voyager 2 spacecraft
the spacecraft is sending back what sounds like an answer: Signals in an unknown data format! The best scientific minds have so far not been able to decipher the strange information is it a secret message? Alien expert Hartwig Hausdorf said:“It seems almost as if someone had reprogrammed or hijacked the probe thus… Continue reading Have aliens hijacked Voyager 2 spacecraft
Paul Krugman calls out Cantor on budget cuts
The real story here is that the sums involved are ludicrously trivial; eliminating everything on Cantors list would amount to a rounding error on federal spending. … The truth is that it has always been like this. Ever since Reagan, the conservative approach has been to talk about the need for smaller government, but refuse… Continue reading Paul Krugman calls out Cantor on budget cuts
Pretty much.
Brooklyn prosecutors clear local ACORN office
A four-month investigation by the Brooklyn district attorney found no evidence that the local ACORN office had engaged in any criminal conduct, despite the hype conservative media gave to tapes of a fake prostitute asking for help from the organization. From Brooklyn prosecutors clear local ACORN office – War Room – Salon.com The whole ACORN… Continue reading Brooklyn prosecutors clear local ACORN office
System FAIL
“GOP member: ‘I’d like this in the bill.’ "Dem member response: ‘If we put it in, will you vote for the bill?’"GOP member: ‘You know I can’t vote for the bill.’ "Dem member: ‘Then why should we put it in the bill?’ From System FAIL – The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan This is… Continue reading System FAIL