I've had an extremely hard time with this whole Osama thing. Not because I thought he was an amazing human being, but because of the schadenfreude and all the fallout I've seen from the action.

What I've come to realise is that even though he was murdered, he actually beat us in several ways. That disgrace that I see is what I'm having the hard ( Read more... )

This is very interesting.  Take a look at this consumer price index graph as brought to you by Flowing Data.  Now cross-reference that with items that the poor tend to consume more of than maybe a rich, liberal dick like me.

Item 1: Gasoline +~30%
The poor tend to live further from city centres or further from their jobs, need to travel more to get ( Read more... )

The Portland Tribune, who I believe to be a conservative paper whose purpose was to out-Right-wing the Oregonian (steep task), wrote an interesting article on trade today.  I'm not sure what to think of it or how to read all the subtexts.

The angle that they took on A Crumpling Paper Industry is this odd free-market/protectionist cake-and-eat-it-too ( Read more... )

Dear America:

After 30 years of nearly Rightist economic policy, our systems are breaking down at an unprecedented rate.  The neoliberal economic model has messed up a slew of things, including:

• Healthcare
• Airlines (deregulation), both in profit and in service
• Our underfunded school system and the labour backlash that has created (entrenched unions ( Read more... )

I need to bring attention to this:

My friend Daniel has done some pretty good analysis here that I think should be highlighted.  Additionally, he links to a very important opinion and analysis that speaks to the psychology of a 90% top-tier tax rate.

Of course, conservatives argue that tax-dodging rich will just expatriate (because realistically they ( Read more... )

I was in my bathroom this morning for some reason thinking about socialism and capitalism... you know, like you do before you're going to brush your teeth and go to work.  Doesn't everyone think this way?  (I thought not.)

Separatists (capitalists) draw lines in the sand. Taxes are a forced means to erase these lines.  We're contributing to the ( Read more... )

Edited version I'm sending to the Oregonian, WW, NYT, HuffPost, Washington Post and my elected officials.

Dear Washington DC:

I understand that you think terrorism is one of our biggest issues. But what do you mean by terrorism? Do you mean mass-panic? Is that what you're trying to avoid? Because if you are, then you need to do something about ( Read more... )

In Southeast Asia, Unease Over Free Trade Zone - NYTimes.com:But nations like Vietnam that focus on the production of cheap consumer goods are more likely to be hurt, said Mr. Severino, head of the Asean Studies Center at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore ( Read more... )

I generally like to come at things from a scientific method angle.  While I fully will admit to 'believing' in global warming, I don't consider it a belief; I consider it an observation ( Read more... )

Just posted an energy/carbon update at CGIdeas.  Read at your own peril/delight.