bryanng

"Even by the standards of politicians, Romney seems unusually prone to dishonesty."

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:12:29 -0600

“Even by the standards of politicians, Romney seems unusually prone to dishonesty.”

- Jonathan Chait

Why Romney's Tax Returns Matter

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:22:54 -0600

Derek Thompson writes in The Atlantic:

It’s not that Romney tax return proves he’s done something wrong. It’s that his tax returns prove that the tax code is wrong. Households worth $200 million earning $20 million in investment income a year shouldn’t be paying a lower tax rate than some middle class families, especially at a time when we’re thinking about cutting spending that disproportionately benefits the lower and lower-middle class.

Republicans have moved far right

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:59:41 -0600

Republicans have moved far right:

From Ryan Lizza’s excellent piece in The New Yorker this morning:

Polarization also has affected the two parties differently. The Republican Party has drifted much farther to the right than the Democratic Party has drifted to the left. Jacob Hacker, a professor at Yale, whose 2006 book, “Off Center,” documented this trend, told me, citing Poole and Rosenthal’s data on congressional voting records, that, since 1975, “Senate Republicans moved roughly twice as far to the right as Senate Democrats moved to the left” and “House Republicans moved roughly six times as far to the right as House Democrats moved to the left.” In other words, the story of the past few decades is asymmetric polarization.

Two well-known Washington political analysts, Thomas Mann, of the bipartisan Brookings Institution, and Norman Ornstein, of the conservative American Enterprise Institute, agree. In a forthcoming book about Washington dysfunction, “It’s Even Worse Than It Looks,” they write, “One of our two major parties, the Republicans, has become an insurgent outlier—ideologically extreme, contemptuous of the inherited social and economic policy regime, scornful of compromise, unpersuaded by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science, and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.”

(emphasis mine)

We Should All Be In This Together

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:56:00 -0600

We Should All Be In This Together:

Matt Yglesias on the current inequality, economic unfairness debate:

There’s a sense that a lot of us have that our public policy ought to be aiming to produce large gains for everyone. You often here that for one reason or another the United States “can’t afford” this or that. We “can’t afford” to pay people Social Security benefits. We “can’t afford” to build high-speed trains. We “can’t afford” to give everyone early childhood education. But why can’t we afford this stuff? Are we a poor country? No, we’re not. We’re one of the richest countries that’s ever existed. Are we a poorer country than we used to be? No, we’re not. But a very large share of the gains we’ve made over the past three decades have gone to a relatively small number of people. If the gains has been broadly shared, then the burden of paying for that basic infrastructure and public services would have to be very broadly shared. But the gains have been very concentrated, and so if we’re going to afford that stuff a large share of the revenue has to come from the people who’ve gotten the money.

(Via Slate Blogs)

The iPod, then and now. [Via Flickr]

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:01:53 -0600

The iPod, then and now.

[Via Flickr]

It's Not the Turkey!

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:19:55 -0600

It's Not the Turkey!:

Myth busted, turkey does not make you sleepy.

The truth is, turkey is not to blame for your sleepiness. Chicken and ground beef contain almost the same amount of tryptophan as turkey — about 350 milligrams per 4 ounce serving. While you might have heard someone claim that turkey made them drowsy, you have probably never heard someone say that chicken, ground beef, or any other meat made them sleepy. Swiss cheese and pork actually contain more tryptophan per gram than turkey, and yet the American classic, a ham and cheese sandwich, somehow escapes blame.

The amount of tryptophan in a single 4 ounce serving of turkey (about 350 milligrams) is also lower than the amount typically used to induce sleep. The recommendations for tryptophan supplements to help you sleep are 500 to 1000 milligrams.

[Via Wonkblog]

"There is something about watching Fox News…"

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:08:27 -0600

"There is something about watching Fox News…":

For some reason, I’m not surprised by this study.

Via Daring Fireball

Hobby Politics

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:02:41 -0600

Hobby Politics:

James Shelley:

Perhaps politics is hobby-like because it is has been designed to feel like a club. With it’s color schemes and catchy slogans, partisanship fabricates a fraternity mentality that does more to detract from the essence of democratic participation than facilitate it.

The whole thing is worth a read and something I’ve been thinking about as the 2012 election draws closer.

Adobe Kills Mobile Flash Player

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 10:49:18 -0600

Adobe Kills Mobile Flash Player:

Steve was right.

GOP blocks another popular Obama jobs proposal

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 09:40:54 -0500

Via Greg Sargent

Last night, as expected, Senate Republicans successfully filibustered the $35 billion in state aid for hiring teachers and first responders. Every single Senate Republican — joined by two Dems — voted to block this portion of Obama’s jobs plan, even though it’s supported by large majorities of the American people, including independents, and even though the 0.5 percent millionaire surtax paying for it would only effect a tiny minority of their own constituents.

Shameful.

Decades Old Calvin and Hobbes Strip Succinctly Explains Occupy Wall Street Movement

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:58:28 -0500

Decades Old Calvin and Hobbes Strip Succinctly Explains Occupy Wall Street Movement:

Brilliant.

Via Daring Fireball

4 Million Sold

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 09:42:00 -0500

4 Million Sold:

And some people thought it wasn’t going to be successful.

Quote of the Day

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 09:38:33 -0500

Kevin Drum:

Watching the world slide slowly back into recession without a fight, even though we know perfectly well how to prevent it, is just depressing beyond words. Our descendants will view the grasping politicians and cowardly bankers responsible for this about as uncomprehendingly as we now view the world leaders who cavalierly allowed World War I to unfold even though they could have stopped it at any time.

Fifth Grade Civics

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:54:23 -0500

Politicians are able to fool the public because people don’t take the time to educate themselves on the issues. For example, raising the debt ceiling does not mean Obama is going to suddenly be able to create all this new spending. It only means the US will be able to pay for spending that was already approved by Congress. And let’s not forget basic fifth grade civics, the Congress makes the law and the President executes the laws. So any new spending Obama wanted would have to be passed by Congress. That’s why Boehner’s line last night that Obama wanted a blank check sounds good and people believe it, but it’s a flat-out lie.

The Cause of the Crisis

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 19:13:14 -0500

Even former George W. Bush speechwriter, David Frum, thinks the Republicans are crazy:

But in the argy-bargy, keep this in mind: the debt problem has become a debt crisis for one reason only: because Republicans put the threat of debt default on the table.

That never needed to happen.

House Republicans could have kept the debt ceiling issue wholly separate from the budget cut issue.

(Via John Gruber)

'It is More Important That Innocence Be Protected Than it is That Guilt Be Punished'

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 08:55:58 -0500

Timely quote from our 2nd President, John Adams:

It is more important that innocence be protected than it is that guilt be punished, for guilt and crimes are so frequent in this world that they cannot all be punished. But if innocence itself is brought to the bar and condemned, perhaps to die, then the citizen will say, “whether I do good or whether I do evil is immaterial, for innocence itself is no protection,” and if such an idea as that were to take hold in the mind of the citizen that would be the end of security whatsoever.

(Via Andy Ihnatko)

Not a Normal Party

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 09:46:55 -0500

David Brooks sums up my view of today’s Republican Party perfectly:

That’s because the Republican Party may no longer be a normal party. Over the past few years, it has been infected by a faction that is more of a psychological protest than a practical, governing alternative. The members of this movement do not accept the logic of compromise, no matter how sweet the terms. If you ask them to raise taxes by an inch in order to cut government by a foot, they will say no. If you ask them to raise taxes by an inch to cut government by a yard, they will still say no. The members of this movement do not accept the legitimacy of scholars and intellectual authorities. A thousand impartial experts may tell them that a default on the debt would have calamitous effects, far worse than raising tax revenues a bit. But the members of this movement refuse to believe it.

…

If the debt ceiling talks fail, independents voters will see that Democrats were willing to compromise but Republicans were not. If responsible Republicans don’t take control, independents will conclude that Republican fanaticism caused this default. They will conclude that Republicans are not fit to govern.

And they will be right.

Keyboard Maestro

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 10:06:55 -0500

One great tool I’ve recently begun using on my Mac is Keyboard Maestro. Keyboard Maestro is a macro program that allows you to create all sorts of keyboard shortcuts. It has really helped automate a lot of the things that I do everyday on my Mac, such as move files, create new email messages, and open and close programs. It is definitely a “geeks” tool, but well worth it if you find yourself doing many of the same things everyday on your Mac.

Do Nothing!

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 09:41:58 -0500

Interesting tidbit from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office – if Congress does nothing and follows the laws currently on the books, meaning Bush tax cuts expire when scheduled and Obamacare is fully implemented, our country’s long-term debt problem stabilizes. If the GOP gets its way and the Bush tax cuts are extended and Obamacare is repealed, the debt explodes.

This was in the CBO’s long-term budget outlook.

Current iPhone home screen

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 16:49:38 -0500