February 2012
15 posts
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On this $26 billion dollar mortgage settlement
squashed:
Speaking tentatively, because I don’t have all the details I would like, I’m happy with this settlement. It’s huge. As in, it’s over three tines bigger than the huge tobacco settlement. Critically, it also preserves borrower’s rights to sue.
Here’s the bottom line: a dead bank on a platter doesn’t help anybody. Twenty-six billion in relief to struggling borrowers, however, is huge....
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“We don’t have shared goals with the Democrats.”
– Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), to CPAC attendees. CPAC is the largest annual gathering of conservative advocates. For the proper context to this remark, head over to the DNC website to read about the issues that DeMint says conservatives disagree with.
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“I do care about not 99 percent or 95 percent. I care about the very rich and the...”
– Rick Santorum, pledging his support for welfare for millionaires in a speech earlier this week. Keep talking. Please, keep on talking.
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I’ve been sarcastically applying quotes to Karen Handel’s former title, “vice president of public policy” of Susan G. Komen, because — objectively speaking — she was dispelling spectacularly bad public policy advice to the organization.
What would have been a more apt title for her?
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“Neither the decision nor the changes themselves [to cut off grants to Planned...”
– Karen Handel, former vice president of public policy for Susan G. Komen, in her resignation letter. Does anyone on the planet believe this?
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It’s all kinds of win when someone can explain global economics by using an example from physics. Ezra Klein writes:
In physics, the central problem is that separate sets of rules govern big things and small things. The workings of the big stuff are best described by the general theory of relativity. The small stuff works according to quantum mechanics. But on some basic level, this...
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patriciahandschiegel:
There is an article today about Google laying down internet infrastructure.
This above all is likely Google’s smartest move yet. While the internet feels open and that it belongs to the software side of the platform (those who create websites, apps, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) it’s actually owned by carriers. That means it’s not really really open. Only those who own...
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The Washington Post tries a new weapon to fight... →
For example, in a front-page story in December, Donna St. George reported that black students in the D.C. area were suspended and expelled two to five times as often as whites. That story attracted 3,736 comments, more than 2,000 of those by 9 o’clock in the morning.
With prodding from the interactivity team, St. George struck while the iron was hot. She began engaging commenters directly...
For their next public demonstration of disrespect, Republican leaders will demand the president come to their homes and do their yardwork for them.
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January 2012
50 posts
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Beyond the Buffett Rule →
Treat all income the same. Tax it all according to the same rate schedule. A dollar is a dollar, whether you got it from your labor or your inheritance or your hedge-fund fees or your stock sales. It isn’t the only thing we could do to improve the tax code, but it would be the most transformative, and it expresses a principle that few would be able to argue against.
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“Ms. Bosanek, who is Warren Buffett’s secretary, will be joining Michelle Obama...”
– NY Times (via afternoonsnoozebutton)
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“When Newt Gingrich isn’t on the attack, he isn’t any good.”
– Howard Fineman
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No one today infringed on Rand Paul's liberty to... →
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Congratulations to Newt Gingrich! Winning the South Carolina primary is like being the richest guy in the shelter.
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Fact: Newt Gingrich treats women like they are property.
Suspicion: So perhaps we can find his ex-wives listed as depreciating assets on the tax returns he disclosed during the debate. Does anyone seriously think he’s a decent-enough person to not do this?
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HAY RICK SANTORUM: No one would even want a free market for healthcare.
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Things that actually exist: an iPad for communists.
The RedPad was built especially for Communist Party members and enthusiasts. It will compete against foreign brands while catering to the tech needs of the country’s bureaucrats and government workers. … An online survey conducted by China’s 91wenwen.net found that people believe the tablet would be a “symbol of privilege,” as translated...
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mauricecherry:
Legitimate vs. No Real Purpose
From Sen. Patrick Leahy, one of the co-authors of PIPA (bolding mine):
“The PROTECT IP Act will not affect Wikipedia, will not affect Reddit, and will not affect any website that has any legitimate use. A foreign rogue website is clearly defined as one that has no real purpose other than infringement. Theft and fraud on this scale undermines...
The Callus: Newt Gingrich Is Toast →
thecallus:
Loathsome soon-to-be-ex-candidate troll’s campaign ends tonight. There is dirty laundry in everyone’s past. For Romney it’s Bain. For Perry it was all the huffing (kidding!). For Santorum it’s the violently evangelical background. Newt leaves them smelling like linen at the Four Seasons. This…
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softerthanstarlight:
Democrats in Wisconsin collected 1,000,000 signatures to recall Governor Walker. He received 1,128,941 votes in 2010. Absolutely incredible.
Why I am learning to code and you should, too →
It’s time Americans begin treating computer code the way we do the alphabet or arithmetic. Code is the stuff that makes computer programs work — the list of commands that tells a word processor, a website, a video game, or an airplane navigation system what to do. That’s all software is: lines of code, written by people.
We are socializing, working, consuming, and living in a world...
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Romney Says His Effective Tax Rate Is ‘Probably’... →
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Why Publishers Are About to Go Data Crazy →
If you saw “Page One,” the documentary about The New York Times, you might remember several scenes where editors sat around a big table discussing what stories should make the front page for the next day’s paper.
It’s almost comical, looking forward to 2012, to think of a newsroom going purely off of gut and intuition when making those decisions.
Next year, these...
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We’re drowning in data, but few reporters know how... →
The story was already great, even before Daniel Gilbert opened his first spreadsheet. Thousands of citizens in the southern Virginia area Gilbert covered for the Bristol Herald Courier (daily circulation: 30,000) had leased their mineral rights to oil and gas companies in exchange for royalties. Twenty years later, they alleged, the companies had not paid, adding up to potentially millions of...
Half of CEOs surveyed say they are lonely →
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I want to take a course on data journalism. Any recommendations, Tumblrs?
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Libertarians : Regulation :: Six-Year-Olds : Bedtime
New study: Lesbian households produce a child... →
Edit: Study is no longer new, but is once again newsworthy, given the tenor of presidential campaigns.
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Mitt Romney's Party-First Agenda
Jon Huntsman: “I was criticized last night by Governor Romney for putting my country first. … He criticized me while he was out raising money for serving my country in China. Yes, under a Democrat. Like my two sons are doing in the United States Navy. They’re not asking what political affiliation the president is. I want to be very clear with the people here in New Hampshire and...
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Daily Caller: Paul campaign volunteers in NH forced to sign nondisclosure agreements
Ron Paul’s presidential campaign makes some of its volunteers, or “interns,” sign nondisclosure forms and instructs them not talk to the press, The Daily Caller has learned.
On Friday, TheDC went looking for some of the hundreds of Paul supporters who turned out to hear the Texas Congressman speak at an...
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Did MSNBC finally fire "Plantation" Pat Buchanan? →