Month: October 2005

I have serious problems with several popular government economic numbers.  The first of these is the unemployment rate, which several studies have clearly demonstrated under-report the degree of US unemployment.  The second of these is the inflation number.   My own experience simply buying and selling goods over the last few years combined with evidence from the financial press adds up to suspicion.  After doing some digging on the internet, I realize my concerns are well-founded.  The core CPI number has serious flaws that understate inflation, largely because it does not include health insurance premiums and the appreciation of house prices.

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Arnold’s Off-road Adventure: New Flash Video

Everybody loves a good flash video.  This one features Arnold in a Hummer, the California Golden Bear and a nice big cliff.  Let’s just say the bear fares better than the yellow Reform 1.  Watch, laugh, smile and pass it on to your friends, because every Monday needs at least one bright spot.

(cross-posted on dailykos, MyLeftWing, Calitics and MyDD)

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Cross-posted at Dkos & MLW

Are typical liberal and conservative value systems apples and oranges?

When comparing two value systems which seem to be different Neil Levy, in A Short Introduction to Moral Relativism, explains two scenarios: one in which two people disagree because their perspective “begs the question” of the other’s value system and another in which two individuals disagree because of a set of facts.

::More::

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Answer: Sooo Fucked.

We all know the cover-up is usually more legally perilous than the original crime. But, in this case there was a re-election to secure and some things had to be sacrificed on that altar. Scooter Libby’s freedom was one of those things. Scooter is going to jail. He’s going to jail without an iota of a doubt…unless…he would prefer that his boss, Dick Cheney, go in his stead.

So far, I can clearly see Libby facing indictments on obstruction of justice, multiple counts of perjury (possibly dozens), passing classified information to those not cleared to see it, possible conspiracy charges, a possible violation of the federal espionage and censorship law, and, of course, the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982.

That’s enough legal liability to convince your average Yale graduate that it is time to cut a deal. Let’s look at each of these potential counts in turn.

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The first meeting of the BooBooks book club will convene this coming weekend, starting on Sat., Oct. 22.

That’s not the only reason it promises to be a special event, however. This will also be a rare instance of reading a book after a calamity which that very book predicted. Every line of this book presages the consequences of Katrina. We will discuss this, not only with the wisdom of hindsight, but also from the eerie perspective of foresight.

In preparation for that, I want to mention a few things:

• Come, whether or not you’ve read the book. I will provide a kansas Cliffs Notes version–quick and dirty–both as a review for those of you who have read it and to bring the rest of you up to speed.
• In addition to everybody else who is welcome. . .if you also happen to be a biologist, marine biologist, ornithologist, environmentalist, or just plain somebody who knows Louisiana, y’all come. We could use your knowledge to make sure we get our facts right.

• Those of you who have read it know there are many people and places that Tidwell talks about and if you’re like me, you really want to know what happened to them during or after Katrina. Did they survive? Where are they now? What about their towns, their boats, their families? If any of you readers feel like being investigators and trying to locate some of that info, I think we’d all be very grateful. I’ll do what I can to find out, too.

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