An interesting argument. I know that a lot of people are being priced out of the housing market here in south Florida by outrageous and rising insurance costs. Basically, it’s another form of outlawing gambling. Of course, the mortgage companies are driving this as well, for obvious reasons. The question is whether or not they’re properly assessing the actuarial risk, and how much federal regulation is preventing the market from working by not allowing an insurance company to take a flier by offering offering lower rates. Or maybe, the market is finally recognizing the risk of building in such places.
The demented dwarf from Cleveland has introduced articles of impeachment against Dick Cheney. Dana Milbank has the (hilarious) story:
A reporter from the Cleveland Plain Dealer encouraged USS Kucinich to contact planet Earth. “But Nancy Pelosi says this is not going anywhere,” she pointed out.
“Have you talked to her today?” Kucinich shot back.
“Yes, I did,” she replied.
Kucinich had not expected that answer. “Then I would say I have not talked to her,” he acknowledged.
It was not an auspicious beginning for the impeachment of Richard B. Cheney.
For those of us who support the great struggle against radical Islam, the world reality could not be plainer. The threat of radical Islam is not merely a few thousand terrorists using small explosives to kill a few dozen people at a time — usually in the faraway Middle East. Rather, it is an historic recrudescence of a violent, conquering old tradition of Islam that almost overwhelmed the world from the Seventh Century until as recently as the 17th century. It is radicalizing the minds of increasing numbers of the world’s 1.4 billion Muslims to be very aggressive culturally, as well as violent — from Africa to Indonesia, to Cairo to Ankara, to Paris, to Rotterdam to London to Falls Church, Va.
Unfortunately, in addition, the debate is poisoned, almost rendered futile, by the irrational blind hatred that so many harbor for George Bush.
As noted in comments here, T. M. Lutas says that the Democrats’ bet is looking pretty shaky:
I expect at least 3 more provinces to get handed over between now and the height of campaign season 2008. I’d like to think that at least 6 more would make the transition by then (obviating the need to explain Kurdistan’s special situation in the stats). The defeatists have to change the natural progression of Iraqi government and security institution building and do it soon or they’re going to be in deep trouble in 2008.
Between rumored Ares performance issues and Orion weight growth, shrinking budgets, and a growing uprising among the space science folks (not to mention Richard Shelby), Dr. Griffin seems to have an unsolvable Rubik’s cube. Something will have to give. I hope that it’s The Stick. I wonder if they’re on the verge of bowing to the inevitable, and reconsidering Atlas? And as commenters point out, what’s the significance of May 23rd?
What struck me about it was the assumption that the decline is inevitable, and that we have to focus on managing it, when in fact we need to put a lot more effort into technologies that can stop aging, and even reverse it. The assumption is that living too long is a problem, and it is, if we don’t figure out how to maintain and restore the ability of the body to repair itself.