06/07/2015 archive
Jun 07 2015
Rant of the week: Jon Stewart – Democalypse 2016
Jun 07 2015
Punting the Pundits
“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.
Thanks to ek hornbeck, click on the link and you can access all the past “Punting the Pundits”.
Follow us on Twitter @StarsHollowGzt
New York Times Editorial: G.O.P. Assault on Environmental Laws
President Obama has announced or will soon propose important protections for clean water, clean air, threatened species and threatened landscapes. Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, and other Republicans in Congress are trying hard not to let that happen – counterattacking with a legislative blitz not seen since Newt Gingrich and his “Contract With America” Republicans swept into office after the 1994 midterm elections bent on crippling many of the environmental statutes enacted under Presidents Johnson and Nixon. Bill Clinton threatened or used vetoes to block that assault. Mr. Obama should be prepared to do the same.
The usual complaints about “executive overreach” and “job-killing regulations” have been raised. But beneath all the political sound bites lies a deep-seated if unspoken grievance that Mr. Obama is actually trying to realize the promise of laws that Congress passed years ago but wouldn’t stand a chance with today’s Congress. The nonsense about regulatory overkill has also infected the presidential campaign, the latest manifestation being a batty suggestion from Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin to shift the functions of the Environmental Protection Agency to the states. Mr. Walker presumably hopes to please business, but it would be hard to think of anything more unsettling to executives than the prospect of having to operate in 50 states with 50 different sets of rules – or anything more harmful to the evenhanded enforcement of federal environmental laws.
Paul Krugman: Fighting the Derp
When it comes to economics – and other subjects, but I’ll focus on what I know best – we live in an age of derp and cheap cynicism. And there are powerful forces behind both tendencies. But those forces can be fought, and the place to start fighting is within yourself.
What am I talking about here? “Derp” is a term borrowed from the cartoon “South Park” that has achieved wide currency among people I talk to, because it’s useful shorthand for an all-too-obvious feature of the modern intellectual landscape: people who keep saying the same thing no matter how much evidence accumulates that it’s completely wrong.
The quintessential example is fear mongering over inflation. It was, perhaps, forgivable for economists, pundits, and politicians to warn about runaway inflation some years ago, when the Federal Reserve was just beginning its efforts to help a depressed economy. After all, everyone makes bad predictions now and then.
But making the same wrong prediction year after year, never acknowledging past errors or considering the possibility that you have the wrong model of how the economy works – well, that’s derp.
Dean Baker: Growth is not necessarily bad for the environment
Smart economic growth should be an ally of those fighting against climate change
Many environmentalists believe that there is an inherent contradiction between a capitalist system that is predicated on growth and the limits imposed by a finite planet. They point not only to the devastation from climate change, but also to the increasing scarcity of water and other resources, and argue that we can’t continue on our current course.
True, business as usual is no longer sustainable. But the question is whether growth is the enemy or whether the problem is the specific course that growth has taken. I would argue that the problem is the latter and it is important to have clear thinking on the topic if we are to address both the immediate environmental crisis facing the world and the real economic problems facing billions of the world’s people.
When people hear the term “growth,” they tend to think of physical objects such as houses, cars and refrigerators. Growth can mean more of these products. While more cars and refrigerators are growth, this does not fully define the term as it applies to economics.
Newer and better treatments for cancer and other diseases are also growth. So is an increase in the number of people going to college or other getting other types of education. Better software is also growth. More and better performances of music, plays, and other types of live entertainment are also growth.
Robert Reich: Anticipatory Bribery
Washington has been rocked by the scandal of J. Dennis Hastert, the longest-serving Republican speaker in the history of the U.S. House, indicted on charges of violating banking laws by paying $1.7 million (as part of a $3.5 million agreement) to conceal prior misconduct, which turns out to have been child molestation.
That scandal contains another one that’s received less attention: Hastert, who never made much money as a teacher or a congressman, could manage such payments because after retiring from Congress he became a high-paid lobbyist.
This second scandal is perfectly legal but it’s a growing menace.
Sen. Ron Wyden: Fixing the DMCA, Step 1: The Breaking Down Barriers to Innovation Act
Right now the U.S. Copyright Office is deciding whether Americans will be able to unlock phones and other devices they’ve paid for, whether farmers can repair their own tractors and whether Americans with disabilities will be able to access e-books and other electronic media.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), passed in 1998, prohibits these activities when they involve breaking a technological “lock” that protects a copyrighted work (check out a primer on the DMCA here). However, digital locks prevent these and many other legitimate activities.
Every three years, the Copyright Office considers whether to grant exceptions to the blanket restriction against circumventing software that locks down access to copyrighted works. It wrapped up hearings last week on 27 exemption requests. [..]
Modern technology is in constant flux, and the DMCA’s process isn’t keeping up.
That’s why I introduced the Breaking Down Barriers to Innovation (BDBI) Act to fix some of these major flaws.
Jason Edward Harrington: TSA’s failures start long before screeners fail to detect bombs in security tests
The agency fails covert tests 95% of times because it’s full of poor managers who can’t maintain a balance between security needs and passenger wait times
The recent news of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents missing 95% of covert tests by the Red Team – the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) group that purposely tries to sneak explosives past security – reveals a lot about the TSA, but it doesn’t mean your flight is in any more danger than it’s ever been.
In a statement that drew a lot of sarcastic fire from commentators, DHS secretary Jeh Johnson remarked that the test failure numbers “never look good out of context.” After living in fear of the dread Red Team for six years, allow me to give you that context: the Red Team tests are highly theoretical – like failing a postmodern philosophy exam – but the failure points to a deeper, systemic problem that needs to be addressed.
Jun 07 2015
On This Day In History June 7
This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.
Find the past “On This Day in History” here.
Click on image to enlarge
June 7 is the 158th day of the year (159th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 207 days remaining until the end of the year.
On this day in 1692, a massive earthquake devastates the infamous town of Port Royal in Jamaica, killing thousands. The strong tremors, soil liquefaction and a tsunami brought on by the earthquake combined to destroy the entire town.
Port Royal was built on a small island off the coast of Jamaica in the harbor across from present-day Kingston. Many of the buildings where the 6,500 residents lived and worked were constructed right over the water. In the 17th century, Port Royal was known throughout the New World as a headquarters for piracy, smuggling and debauchery. It was described as “most wicked and sinful city in the world” and “one of the lewdest in the Christian world.”
Earthquakes in the area were not uncommon, but were usually rather small. In 1688, a tremor had toppled three homes. But four years later, late in the morning on June 7, three powerful quakes struck Jamaica. A large tsunami hit soon after, putting half of Port Royal under 40 feet of water. The HMS Swan was carried from the harbor and deposited on top of a building on the island. It turned out to be a refuge for survivors.
Port Royal provided a safe harbour initially for privateers and subsequently for pirates plying the shipping lanes to and from Spain and Panama. Buccaneers found Port Royal appealing for several reasons. Its proximity to trade routes allowed them easy access to prey, but the most important advantage was the port’s proximity to several of the only safe passages or straits giving access to the Spanish Main from the Atlantic. The harbour was large enough to accommodate their ships and provided a place to careen and repair these vessels. It was also ideally situated for launching raids on Spanish settlements. From Port Royal, Henry Morgan attacked Panama, Portobello, and Maracaibo. Roche Brasiliano, John Davis (buccaneer), and Edward Mansveldt (Mansfield) also came to Port Royal.
Since the English lacked sufficient troops to prevent either the Spanish or French from seizing it, the Jamaican governors eventually turned to the pirates to defend the city.
By the 1660s, the city had gained a reputation as the Sodom of the New World where most residents were pirates, cutthroats, or prostitutes. When Charles Leslie wrote his history of Jamaica, he included a description of the pirates of Port Royal:
Wine and women drained their wealth to such a degree that… some of them became reduced to beggary. They have been known to spend 2 or 3,000 pieces of eight in one night; and one gave a strumpet 500 to see her naked. They used to buy a pipe of wine, place it in the street, and oblige everyone that passed to drink.
The taverns of Port Royal were known for their excessive consumption of alcohol such that records even exist of the wild animals of the area partaking in the debauchery. During a passing visit, famous Dutch explorer Jan van Riebeeck is said to have described the scenes:
The parrots of Port Royal gather to drink from the large stocks of ale with just as much alacrity as the drunks that frequent the taverns that serve it.
There is even speculation in pirate folklore that the infamous Blackbeard met a howler monkey while at leisure in a Port Royal alehouse whom he named Jefferson and formed a strong bond with during the expedition to the island of New Providence. Port Royal benefited from this lively, glamorous infamy and grew to be one of the two largest towns and the most economically important port in the English colonies. At the height of its popularity, the city had one drinking house for every ten residents. In July 1661 alone, forty new licenses were granted to taverns. During a twenty-year period that ended in 1692, nearly 6,500 people lived in Port Royal. In addition to prostitutes and buccaneers, there were four goldsmiths, forty-four tavern keepers, and a variety of artisans and merchants who lived in 2000 buildings crammed into 51 acres of real estate. 213 ships visited the seaport in 1688. The city’s wealth was so great that coins were preferred for payment rather than the more common system of bartering goods for services.
Following Henry Morgan’s appointment as lieutenant governor, Port Royal began to change. Pirates were no longer needed to defend the city. The selling of slaves took on greater importance. Upstanding citizens disliked the reputation the city had acquired. In 1687, Jamaica passed anti-piracy laws. Instead of being a safe haven for pirates, Port Royal became noted as their place of execution. Gallows Point welcomed many to their death, including Charles Vane and Calico Jack, who were hanged in 1720. Two years later, forty-one pirates met their death in one month.
Although a work of historical fiction, James Michener’s The Caribbean details the history, atmosphere and geography of Port Royal accurately.
Jun 07 2015
Sucky Blogging Sunday (Part 4)
Jun 07 2015
Punting the Pundits: Sunday Preview Edition
“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.
Thanks to ek hornbeck, click on the link and you can access all the past “Punting the Pundits”.
Follow us on Twitter @StarsHollowGzt
The Sunday Talking Heads:
This Week with George Stephanopolis: The guests on Sunday’s “This Week” are: GOP presidential candidate Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker; and retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal.
The roundtable guests are: Democratic strategist Donna Brazile; ABC News political analyst Matthew Dowd; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; and former Clinton Labor secretary Robert Reich.
Face the Nation with John Dickerson: John Dickerson takes over as host. His guests are: potential GOP presidential candidate NJ Gov. Chris Christie; GOP presidential candidate former TX Gov. Rick Perry; Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
His panel guests are Susan Page, USA Today Jamelle Bouie, Slate; Ron Fournier, National Journal and CBS News Congressional Correspondent Nancy Cordes.
Meet the Press with Chuck Todd This Sunday’s guests are never eas to find and I’m too busy to look. Watch at your own risk.
State of the Union with Jake Tapper: CNN is another site that keeps you in the dark about who the guests are. Good Luck.
I’m still traveling and on a bit of a deadline. Enjoy your Sunday
Jun 07 2015
Six In The Morning
Fifa corruption: Documents show details of Jack Warner ‘bribes’
By Ed Thomas BBC News, Trinidad
A BBC investigation has seen evidence that details what happened to the $10m sent from Fifa to accounts controlled by former vice-president Jack Warner.The money, sent on behalf of South Africa, was meant to be used for its Caribbean diaspora legacy programme.
But documents suggest Mr Warner used the payment for cash withdrawals, personal loans and to launder money.
The 72-year-old, who has been indicted by the FBI for corruption, denies all claims of wrongdoing.
Jun 07 2015
The Breakfast Club (Tuba Skinny)
Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
Breakfast Tune: Tuba Skinny, New Orleans, Mardi Gras 2012
Today in History
James Byrd, Jr. dragged to death in Texas; Communists complete takeover of Czechoslovakia; Israel destroys an Iraqi nuclear power plant; ‘Grease’ opens on Broadway; Singer-songwriter Prince born. (June 7)
Breakfast News & Blogs Below
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