Author: Stable Genius

I am the very model of a Stable Genius Liberal.

Florida’s Welfare Drug Testing Costs More Than It Saves

Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s plan to test welfare recipients for drugs is costing the state money, despite his claims that the program would actually save tax dollars. … Under the rules of the program, the state must reimburse recipients who receive negative test results. The state paid about $1,140 for the 38 negative tests,… Continue reading Florida’s Welfare Drug Testing Costs More Than It Saves

Buddhist Meditation Promotes Rational Thinking

But a new study suggests that people who regularly practice Buddhist meditation actually process these common social situations differently — and the researchers have the brain scans to prove it. Ulrich Kirk and collaborators at Baylor Medical College in Houston had 40 control subjects and 26 longtime meditators participate in a well-known experiment called the… Continue reading Buddhist Meditation Promotes Rational Thinking

The Cracked Conservative Mirror

Whenever you read conservatives trying to critique what they think the other side believes, you find them assuming that their opponents must be mirror images of themselves. The right believes that less government spending is always good, regardless of circumstances, so it assumes that the other side must always favor more government spending. The right… Continue reading The Cracked Conservative Mirror

Tea Party less popular than much maligned groups like atheists and Muslims.

Tea Party ranks lower than any of the 23 other groups we asked about — lower than both Republicans and Democrats. It is even less popular than much maligned groups like “atheists” and “Muslims.” Interestingly, one group that approaches it in unpopularity is the Christian Right. From NYT Crashing the Tea Party But are they… Continue reading Tea Party less popular than much maligned groups like atheists and Muslims.

why don’t smart phones do noise reduction?

You’ve got a microphone. You’ve got a processor that is more than capable of mixing an audio stream in real time. Why not have the device capture background audio and apply anti-waves to the audio playing in the headphones?

Austerity and Social Protest

Expenditure cuts carry a significant risk of increasing the frequency of riots, anti-government demonstrations, general strikes, political assassinations, and attempts at revolutionary overthrow of the established order. While these are low- probability events in normal years, they become much more common as austerity measures are implemented From Austerity and Social Protest Amazing timing for the… Continue reading Austerity and Social Protest

Poll Shows Negative View of Tea Party on the Rise

The percentage of people with an unfavorable view of the Tea Party in a New York Times/CBS News Poll this week was higher than it has been since the first time the question was asked, in April 2010. Forty percent of those polled this week characterized their view as “not favorable,” compared with 18 percent… Continue reading Poll Shows Negative View of Tea Party on the Rise

Michele Bachmann Repeatedly Sought Stimulus, EPA, Other Government Funds

A Freedom of Information Act request filed by The Huffington Post with three separate federal agencies reveals that on at least 16 separate occasions, Bachmann petitioned the federal government for direct financial help or aid. A large chunk of those requests were for funds set aside through President Obama’s stimulus program, which Bachmann once labeled… Continue reading Michele Bachmann Repeatedly Sought Stimulus, EPA, Other Government Funds

Keynes v. Hayek Debate

The Keynes v. Hayek BBC debate at the LSE which pits Lord Robert Skidelsky and Duncan Weldon arguing for Keynes against George Selgin and Jamie Whyte arguing for Hayek is now available in an online podcast. From Keynes v. Hayek Debate — Marginal Revolution Going to listen to this on way in to work.