Year: 2010

Military Budgets

No Comments

Matthew Yglesias comes to a stunning realization on the military budget as juxtaposed against their financial crisis:

The thing about military spending that I don’t think is properly understood is the extent to which if it’s not necessary it’s truly wasteful. Building a mag-lev train from Chicago to Milwaukee would be a “waste of money” but if you did it, the resulting train would still be useful to people and lead to some increased value. But a tank you don’t need just does nothing. An extra brigade of soldiers consumes resources and doesn’t produce anything. Of course if your tanks and soldiers produce “Nazis don’t conquer Europe” then it’s valuable indeed. But if you don’t need them, you really don’t need them.

(emphasis original)

Matt was talking about Greece and Turkey, but looking at the bigger picture makes one wonder why the biggest debtor in the world, the United States of America, is well served by spending nearly as much on defense as the rest of the world combined.

French National Assembly Votes to Ban Burqa

No Comments

The vote to ban face coverings in public places with only one no vote, and it now goes to the Senate, where passage almost certain.

I have actually lived in a place where face coverings were briefly banned, I discovered this when we had issues with Halloween masks one year, for reasons completely unrelated to religious observance.

As I stated a few months ago, I have some mixed emotions here.

First, there is already an extant ban on masks in public, so the law, with its €150 fine for wearing the veil seems to be gilding the lily. Simply by enforcing the existing ban on masks in public places could achieve the same effect.

That being said, criminalizing coercion by family members to wear the garb, the law calls for €30,000 fine and up to a year in jail, does seem to be an unalloyed good.

Of course, you really don’t have good guys on either side.

On one side you have right wing nativists, and on the other side, you have a profoundly medieval mindset which sees the subjugation of women as a core value.*

If there were only a way for both sides to lose this battle.

I don’t think that women should be wearing the burqa anywhere in the world, but I am still conflicted as to whether this needs to be put into law.

*In the interest of fairness, I consider the Jewish Heredim, the ultra orthodox, to have a, “profoundly medieval mindset which sees the subjugation of women as a core value,” as well.

Unambiguously Good News

No Comments

For the first time since the 3rd quarter of 2008, State tax receipts rose in the 1st quarter of 2010.

The obvious bit of good news here is that increasing tax revenues means that there is more hiring (income tax) and buying (sales tax), but there is another significant effect.

49 states, all of them but Vermont, are required by their constitution to run balanced budgets, and what this has meant is that the state governments have had to act like 49 little Hoovers, cutting budgets and staffing in the midst of the worst downturn since the great depression.

The turnaround in tax revenue means that the spending cuts can stop, which removes a drag to those state’s economies created by budgetary retrenchment as well.

There is No Room for Compromise on Abortion

No Comments

The same folks who bought you the draconian restrictions on abortion in Barack Obama’s healthcare bill are now lobbying to ban federal coverage for all forms of birth control.

Let’s be clear here, this is not about meaningful policy. They just want to punish women for having sex:

Polls suggest the majority of Americans would support such a policy. But the Daily Beast has learned that many conservative activists, who spent most of their energies during the health-care reform fight battling to win abortion restrictions and abstinence-education funding, are just waking up to the possibility that the new health care law could require employers and insurance companies to offer contraceptives, along with other commonly prescribed medications, without charging any co-pay. Now the Heritage Foundation and the National Abstinence Education Association say that, like the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, they oppose implementation of the new provisions.

This why there is no meaningful space for discussion for these people.

They use terrorism against doctors, they are working to make birth control unavailable at pharmacies, and now they are trying to exclude birth control from prescription coverage.

Enough is enough. These people are not the opposition, they are the enemy.

H/t Atrios

When Calls Harry Reid You a Wimp………

No Comments

You have a very serious problem:

In an interview on Friday with Jon Ralston, one of the top political reporters in Nevada, Reid was asked for examples of things he disagreed with Obama on. Reid said there are multiple things. When asked for a further explanation by Ralston, Reid’s answer came down more to process and style, rather than substance.

“I think that he is on many occasions — I shouldn’t say on many occasions, on a few occasions — I think he should have been more firm with those on the other side of the aisle,” said Reid. “He is a person who doesn’t like confrontation. He’s a peacemaker. And sometimes I think you have to be a little more forceful. And sometimes I don’t think he is enough with the Republicans.”

Ralston asked Reid for an example.

“Health care,” Reid responded. “That went on for many months. And I think much of that early on scrimmaging was done in the Senate itself, and the White House didn’t come in until later. Now, we came up with a great product, and I’m sure he can look back and say I was right, but boy for me down in the trenches, I know it was a time when I wanted a few folks in the White House behind me.”

Ralston then suggested that Reid was saying Obama wasn’t strong enough.

“He’s a very strong man. He’s calm, he’s cool, he’s deliberate,” Reid responded. “But as I just said, I think sometimes he — I would like him to be more confrontational. He isn’t, that’s who he is. My saying this isn’t gonna make him that way. I know who he is, and I understand him.”

Harry Reid just called Barack Obama a wimp, though I think that he pointedly stayed away from calling him a “bitch”. (The strong man comment)

Seriously, it’s time for an intervention with Barack Obama.

We need to send him for a few weeks to the Betty Ford Mike Ditka clinic.

This is a Big F%$#ing Deal

No Comments

A panel of the 2dd circuit court of appeals has ruled that the FCC’s indecency rules, calling the vague and a violation of 1st amendment rights:

In a sharp rebuke of the Bush-era crackdown on foul language on broadcast television and radio, a federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down the government’s near-zero-tolerance indecency policy as a violation of the 1st Amendment protection of free speech.

………

The case was triggered by unscripted expletives uttered by Bono, Cher and Nicole Richie on awards shows earlier in the decade, and the court’s decision calls into question the FCC’s regulation of foul language and other indecent content on the public airwaves.

………

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals did not have the power to strike down the 1978 Supreme Court decision that affirmed the FCC’s right to police the airwaves for objectionable content. But it reversed the aggressive stance the agency took starting in 2004 that found even a slip of the tongue that got by network censors was a violation subject to fines for the stations that aired it.

The court said that policy on so-called fleeting expletives was “unconstitutionally vague” and created a “chilling effect” on the programming that broadcasters chose to air. The court echoed complaints from network executives that the FCC’s standards were nearly impossible to gauge, noting that the agency allowed the airing of the f-word and s-word in broadcasts of the World War II movie “Saving Private Ryan” but not in the PBS miniseries “The Blues.”

Word up.

Now a special master has to be appointed, because when stations appeal fines, because there is always the implicit threat that the FCC will “lose” license renewal applications when the fines are appealed.

Living in a Police State

2 Comments

Case in point, the (black) school teacher who was tased and pepper sprayed by (white) police officers.

You see, she called in a complaint of a prowler around her house, and while waiting for the police to show up, called in a friend to stay with her for safety.

The police showed up, and promptly went jack booted thug on her because she did not want to give the name of her friend, so they handcuffed her, and then tased and pepper sprayed her.

It was so bad that the chief of police, who showed up at the end of this little drama, has publicly stated that he, “suspects the outcome would have been different if the woman had been white and the officers black.”

What is at the crux of this, is the belief, widely held in this country and universally held in the law enforcement community, that any order given whether justified or legal, must be obeyed.

That is, by definition a government by and for police, and hence a police state.

Unfortunately, no one has won political office by defending the rights of the citizen against bad cops.

Judges Start to Question Sanity of Copyright Awards

No Comments

Two judges have now slashed awards for copyright violations by around 90%:

In fact, according to Gertner, they trampled the Constitution’s “Due Process” clause. In a ruling today, the judge slashed the $675,000 award by a factor of 10, to $67,500.
Two for two

If it sounds like a familiar result, it should. In Minnesota, Judge Michael Davis used a different legal approach called remittitur to lower Jammie Thomas-Rasset’s liability from $1.9 million to $2,250 per song. That amount is three times higher than the $750 minimum for statutory damages, and Judge Gertner has accepted both Judge Davis’ number and his reasoning when issuing her own opinion.

“Weighing all of these considerations, I conclude that the jury’s award of $675,000 in statutory damages for Tenenbaum’s infringement of thirty copyrighted works is unconstitutionally excessive,” she wrote. “This award is far greater than necessary to serve the government’s legitimate interests in compensating copyright owners and deterring infringement. In fact, it bears no meaningful relationship to these objectives. To borrow Chief Judge Michael J. Davis’ characterization of a smaller statutory damages award in an analogous file-sharing case, the award here is simply ‘unprecedented and oppressive.'”

This is a good thing. The previous award levels did nothing additional to deter people who violated the exclusive licenses that are a part of IP, but they did make it much easier for bottom feeding legal firms to prey on technically non-astute parents and people who were innocent.

There is a whole lot of what could only be described as shake downs being promulgated by agents of the RIAA and the MPAA, and hopefully, this will put a crimp in those ghouls’ business.

And On the Other Side of How to Treat Children

No Comments

Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY-4) has introduced legislation to ban corporal punishment in schools.

In the context of the home, I’m a little bit more ambivalent on the idea of a corporal punishment ban, but in schools, the people most likely to engage in this are going to be be psychopaths who get off by hitting kids.

What’s more the punishments fall disproportionately on minorities and the disabled.

Full press release after the break:

Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy Introduces Legislation to End Corporal Punishment in Schools
Tuesday June 29, 2010

Washington, DC–Today, Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (NY-04) introduces the “Ending Corporal Punishment in Schools Act,” legislation that aims to eliminate the use of corporal punishment in schools.

Data collected by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights shows that over 220,000 students in 20 states, in schools across the country are corporally punished, and studies indicate that corporal punishment in schools has a negative effect on students. Children of color and with disabilities experience corporal punishment at disproportionate rates. This legislation aims to alleviate this and promote positive school cultures and climates.

Additionally, data shows there is no evidence that corporal punishment is an effective disciplinary tool or that it results in academic success.

“I am introducing this legislation to addresses the damaging use of corporal punishment against our nation’s school children. This bill will eliminate the use of corporal punishment in schools, as well as assist in creating a safer learning environment for every child ensuring that our schools are places that foster students’ growth and dignity,” said Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy. “Twenty states still permit corporal punishment in public schools and studies indicate that this type of discipline has a negative effect on students. This legislation amends the General Education Provisions Act so that no funds for programs administered by the Department of Education shall be made available to any educational agency or institution that has a policy or practice which allows school personnel to inflict corporal punishment on a student.”

Congressman Bobby Scott (VA- 03) member of the Healthy Family and Children Subcommittee, and co-sponsor of this legislation highlights that racial disparities do exist with the use of corporal punishment.

“Thirty states across the country have already prohibited corporal punishment,” said Congressman Scott. “Corporal punishment does not work and in fact leads to increased negative behavior and dropout rates. Moreover, the fact that schools are applying school discipline policies in a discriminatory manner based on race, color, national origin, disability, or gender constitutes a civil rights violation.”

Congressman Phil Hare (IL-17) who has been a champion and supporter of innovative programs designed to teach positive behavior as a way to improve school climate, is also a co-sponsor of this legislation.

“Corporal punishment such as paddling and other physical abuse is reprehensible and should be banned immediately. It is time to move away from the old conventional wisdom that threatening and punishing a student will motivate them to achieve. Instead, we should transition to 21st century programs like school-wide positive behavior supports which encourage, reward, and breed good behavior from the beginning,” said Hare.

According to the Department of Education, while African Americans made up 17.1 percent of public school students nationwide, they accounted for 35.6 percent of those who were paddled during the 2006-2007 school year. Similarly, although students with disabilities constituted 13.7 percent of all public school students, they made up 18.8 percent of those who are subjected to corporal punishment. These students are often punished simply for behaviors arising out of their disabilities, such as autism or Tourette’s syndrome.

Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers has been a long-time advocate against the use of corporal punishment in school supports this measure.

“Corporal punishment doesn’t improve behavior or student performance. Rep. McCarthy’s bill would end an outdated disciplinary practice,” said Weingarten.

Spearheaded by the American Civil Liberties Union, over 80 education and child advocate groups have signed a letter supporting this legislation.

“This important legislation would end the arcane practice of corporal punishment in schools. It is stunning to think children in some states receive greater protections against physical discipline in detention facilities than they do in classrooms,” said Deborah J. Vagins, ACLU Legislative Counsel. “The Ending Corporal Punishment in Schools Act will help provide the safe, supportive academic environment all students deserve and need to achieve academic success.”
The National Parents Teachers Association (PTA) agrees that corporal punishment does not foster positive environments for students to thrive and grow.

“National PTA opposes the use of any violence in schools. National PTA supports federal efforts to abolish corporal punishment in schools and the development of alternative discipline programs, such as Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) to provide for an orderly climate for learning. We applaud the efforts of Congresswoman McCarthy to abolish the use of corporal punishment in America’s schools and stand ready to assist in her efforts,” said Charles J. “Chuck” Saylors, National PTA President.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals says schools should find positive approaches to disciplining children.

“The National Association of Secondary School Principals has a long history of supporting the personalization of the school environment and student learning,” said NASSP President Jana Frieler, who is the principal of Overland High School in Aurora, Colorado and testified before the Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee in April. “We believe that school climate must be one that never tolerates violence but instead focuses on each student’s success and how the school can foster a proactive approach to discipline. For this reason, we are proud to support the Ending Corporal Punishment in Schools Act and will work with Congress to ensure this important legislation is enacted into law.”

###

Polanski Extradition Denied

No Comments

Basically the Swiss government said that it would not extradite until and unless it got the details on the judicial and prosecutorial irregularities that occurred in the initial trial:

The justice ministry said that the US authorities had failed to provide confidential testimony about Polanski’s original sentencing procedure.

“The reason for the decision lies in the fact that it was not possible to exclude with the necessary certainty a fault in the US extraditionary request.”

So the prosecutors decided that covering their screw-ups, and their asses, was more important than a prosecution of someone who is a confessed child rapist.

I’ve always felt that the people, such as sociopath and Washington Post columnist* Richard Cohen, who tried to excuse the rape because he was one of them, or worse, to cast the child as some sort of predator were repugnant.

But this was the right decision. There have always been alarming irregularities in the original case, ex-parte communications and other misconduct that should have seen most of the prosecuting team, as well as the judge, disbarred, and the information being withheld included testimony which might have shown that Polanski had actually served his complete sentence. (All of 42 days)

*But I repeat myself.

You Cannot Negotiate With the Insane

No Comments

A hack writer once said that, “A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth.”*

Well, John Kyle just had a bit of a gaffe.

He just said that tax cuts never need to be paid for, just spending:

You cannot run a hospital with people who believe in bleeding and leeches.†

There is simply no basis for rational cooperation with moonbats.

[on edit]

I should note that insanity is the best spin on what Kyle said. A more likely interpretation is that the real goal here is to create deficits at such a level that cuts government, particularly to social services,‡ are inevitable.

It’s called, “starve the beast.”

H/t Ezra Klein.

*Michael Kinsley, who is evidence that mindless contrarianism is never a substitute for real insight.
†Yes, I am aware of the fact that there are actually medical treatments that involve bleeding and leeches,most notably iron poisoning and reattaching limbs, it’s a metaphor.
‡But of course, we must never ever reign in our bloated wasteful Pentagon.

Can We Please Give Texas Back to Mexico?

No Comments

Texas has a concealed carry law, something that it did not have when I lived there, but one of the consequences there is make things more convenient for lobbyists in Austin:

……Well, I hear from a friend that lobbyists visiting the Texas state capitol building have started applying for concealed carry licenses. Why? Because as you pass through the metal detector to get into the capitol building, there’s a separate – basically empty – line for people who have a license to carry a concealed weapon. So the lobbyists are applying for the license in order to take the short line.

The body politic of the great state of Texas is a maggot ridden zombie……With a case of the clap.

Is Ben Bernanke Trying to Rehabilitate the Reputation of Alan “Bubbles” Greenspan?

1 Comment

Paul Krugman finally comes out strongly about Bernanke’s inaction regarding the threat of deflation, which could threaten decades of recession.

It isn’t just the the fact that Bernanke who has sterling academic and economic credentials, unlike Greenspan who got his PhD from the back of a cereal box, but he continues to ignore the threat of deflation.

The problem is that Bernanke literally wrote the book on the dangers of deflation, and he is consciously eschewing the policy prescriptions that he called for nearly 20 years ago for Japan.

Greenspan was what Lenin called a “Useful Idiot.”

Bernanke knows better, which is why Krugman is calling him “feckless”.