Did American liberalism die with JFK? It’s an interesting thesis, that so many so-called liberals want to delude themselves that he was a victim of the right wing and homegrown reaction, rather than of a communist and the Cold War.
The Battle Of Baquba
It has begun, and Michael Yon writes about it, and the general state of the war, and the abysmal state of reporting about it:
Northeast of Baghdad, innocent civilians are being asked to leave Baquba. More than 1,000 AQI fighters are there, with perhaps another thousand adjuncts. Baquba alone might be as intense as Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah in late 2004. They are ready for us. Giant bombs are buried in the roads. Snipers
Why I Read Lileks Every Day
For things like this:
The rain began. Ten, twenty tentative drops on the windshield, then whoa: angry pounding sheets. All over town, a million ant colonies suffered their own Johnstown flood. Imagine if they were capable of putting up small historical markers. There would be billions of them. They
Disecting Supreme Court IPO Decision
In today’s Wall Street Journal, an editorial applauded the Supreme Court for ruling in Credit Suisse v. Billing that investors could not sue investment banks under anti-trust law. They like Justice Stevens’s concurring opinion:
After the initial purchase, the prices of newly issued stocks or bonds are determined by competition among the vast multitude of other securities traded in a free market. To suggest that an underwriting syndicate can restrain trade in that market by manipulating the terms of [initial public offerings] (IPOs) is frivolous.
This is a red herring. If the underwriting syndicate can get super normal profits through commissions during the IPO, subsequent trading is moot.
The main finding in the Breyer Opinion (6 joining, 1 concurring, 1 abstaining and 1 dissenting):
In sum, an antitrust action in this context is accompanied by a substantial risk of injury to the securities markets and by a diminished need for antitrust enforcement to address anticompetitive conduct. Together these considerations indicate a serious conflict between application of the antitrust laws and proper enforcement of the securities law.
I agree that there is a fundamental conflict between Justice and/or FTC pursuing anti-trust claims and SEC regulating securities. But this is not saying that there should be no anti-trust enforcement. SEC should enforce anti-trust laws.
Here’s what they can expect to reap.
A Misapplication Of Rockets
Glenn (and Popular Mechanics) confuse the terms. As is pointed out in the article, rocket packs aren’t “jet” packs.
Remember the rules? If you want to cruise in the atmosphere, use an air breather. A rocket belt sounds cool, but it really makes no sense for this application. Rockets are for accelerating, and getting out of the atmosphere as soon as possible (or for traveling in space, if you’ve already done that). They’re not for tooling around near the ground, or for atmospheric transportation (rocket races being an exception, because it helps push the technology, and sounds cool). A true jet pack, though, would be actually cool, as opposed to merely sounding (and looking, when you see a pro do it at a show, for a minute or so) cool.
My Dark Secret
I not only liked Cream of Wheat, but I would deliberately make it lumpy. The lumps were the best part. Go ahead, call me crazy. The others, who liked theirs smooth and bland (or at least disliked it the least that way) weren’t shy about it.
Also, who knew that the guy on the package was a Michiganian? I’d never heard of Leslie until I read his story, despite the fact that it was less than a hundred miles away from home.
Is This Really A Younger Generation Thing?
I’m not in the cohort discussed in this article, but I’ll often go weeks without carrying any cash. I find the only time that I need it is on business trips when dining out with others, and have to split a bill. Even then, though, we often either have the waitperson split the bill on separate cards, or I’ll be the one to take the cash and put it on my mine (after which I have cash for the next time).
Maybe the difference between me and the people being discussed here is that I use credit, rather than debit cards. I can see how it would be tough to track your balance if you charged everything to your checking account.
More Options
Randall Parker has a list of consequences when the cost of individual gene sequencing comes down (as it inevitably will). I found this one interesting:
Discovery of genetic variations that contribute to appearances such as genes for eye and hair color, complexion, hair texture, facial shape, and other attributes that contribute to visual desirability.
Physical desirability is a two-way street. We are bred to appear desirable, but we’re also bred to view desirable people as desirable. I wonder if some people might not figure out how to rearrange their genes to change what is desirable to them? That’s probably a much tougher problem, though.
It’s Not The Bias Per Se
I’ve said this many times before, but apparently it needs to be chronically restated. What most people object to in media is not the biased reporting per se, but biased reporting masquerading as objectivity. We’d just like a little truth in advertising, but too many liberal reporters are unable to even see their own bias. Even when their own organization points it out.
It’s Not The Bias Per Se
I’ve said this many times before, but apparently it needs to be chronically restated. What most people object to in media is not the biased reporting per se, but biased reporting masquerading as objectivity. We’d just like a little truth in advertising, but too many liberal reporters are unable to even see their own bias. Even when their own organization points it out.