Originalia

The Dying Art of Mapmaking

2012-01-04T21:21:00.002-05:00

Slate.com describes a beautiful paper map of the US made by one expert in Oregon, David Imus. It is very beautiful indeed. At first glance, it looks muddy compared to the crisp, familiar appearance of the National Geographic map next to it. But on closer examination, it give a much clearer and more artful depiction. I'm fond of maps that give an impression of the size of a city, for example, and this map does so. There was one choice depicted I didn't think was optimal... noting significant features of Chicago in a list in the middle of Lake Michigan. It is carefully done, though at the cost of the names of several small towns in southeastern Michigan... but I don't like it. There can be too much information on a map, too. On the whole, however, a thing of beauty.

This Image is Making the Rounds

2011-10-09T09:43:00.001-04:00

Recession

2011-10-09T09:38:00.002-04:00

Bad news from the Economic Cycle Research Institute, a private firm. According to a story in the New York Times, they have predicted that a recession has already begun or will begin soon. This is the sort of thing that many economists predict all the time, of course, but the distinction here is that this group has never been wrong in the last 15 years. They correctly projected the beginning and end of each recession and refrained from any false alarms.

First Monday in October

2011-10-03T23:12:00.003-04:00

The first Monday in each October is the first day of the annual term of the Supreme Court of the United States. Every year bring momentous cases, but this one promises lots of action. This column from the National Review give a preview. And from the invaluable SCOTUSBlog, a round up of news items.

Mickey Kaus Analyzes the Ford Ad Scandal

2011-09-28T09:27:00.002-04:00

When Ford was able to survive the recession while its two American rivals, GM and Chrysler, had to declare bankruptcy and were bailed out by the US government, I thought that gave Ford a substantial advantage. I was surprised it took so long for Ford to capitalize directly on that with an ad noting the fact. Now they've pulled the ad, reportedly in response to pressure from the White House. Kaus analyzes here.

Electronic Security Concerns for International Travellers

2011-09-27T21:27:00.002-04:00

Concerns about cyber espionage in and from China have been endemic for years. This article at the Washington Post discusses the lengths to which travelers have been going to avoid compromising their secrets.

Today in Postwar History

2011-09-26T22:12:00.003-04:00

September 26, 1989: The Soviet Union approved an anti-censorship law. By 1989, the old rules of the Soviet Union were being systematically broken down, and the Cold War was rapidly approaching its end.

Recovering Treasures from the Ocean Floor

2011-09-26T22:09:00.002-04:00

Historically, this has only been possibly in rather shallow water, so this is pretty impressive. What else will we find in coming years at extreme depths? The legal issues here are also interesting.

On This Day in Postwar History

2011-09-25T12:20:00.004-04:00

"Papa Doc" Duvalier won the presidential election in Haiti for the first time on September 25, 1957. He would go on to rule until his death in 1971. He was succeeded by his son, popularly referred to as "Baby Doc", who fell from power in 1986. Baby Doc had become president at age 19.

Best Buy v. Newegg

2011-09-25T11:57:00.004-04:00

An essential task of a business with valuable intellectual property is to monitor and protect it, as noted in this article at Business Week. But it is also frequently a public image problem for big corporations who have to play the heavy, too...

Greek Default?

2011-09-25T11:49:00.004-04:00

It would appear to be inevitable. The current state of discussion is noted here. For a small and insignificant country in southeastern Europe to default should be a minor matter to the rest of Europe. Instead, it appears that it endangers the entire project of the European Union. The main question is: how long with German voters put up with assuming the debts of said small and insignificant country? Their debts, unfortunately, are not so small and insignificant.

Bin Laden Boost for Obama?

2011-05-03T10:23:00.003-04:00

Two sources say no. The polling organization Rasmussen reports their latest results here, and a British expert comments here. The expert is right, I think, to say that getting Bin Laden at last won't have an effect on the election next year. It's too far away in time. But I'm surprised about not seeing a temporary boost in the polls.

UPDATE: Ah, here we go. With more polls in, the boost appears.

10 Most Disruptive Products

2011-05-03T10:19:00.001-04:00

This slideshow suggests them... I think the list is accurate and interesting.

Geraldine Ferraro, RIP

2011-03-26T12:52:00.002-04:00

The first woman to appear on a presidential ticket for a major party, Geraldine Ferraro, has died at 75. She was the vice presidential nominee for the Democratic Party in 1984, joining Walter Mondale on what turned out to be a slate of sacrificial lambs, electorally speaking. I always appreciated her outspokenness... in recent years, she seemed pretty out of step with the current Dems.

Nuclear Meltdown in Japan

2011-03-12T10:52:00.000-05:00

Republished with permission from Stratfor:

Published on STRATFOR (http://www.stratfor.com)

Red Alert: Nuclear Meltdown at Quake-Damaged Japanese Plant

Created Mar 12 2011 - 02:27

Borders to Declare Bankruptcy

2011-02-13T21:24:00.004-05:00

This writer at the Atlantic explains why, although I could wish for more detail. It will be sad to see Borders fail, if that happens... it might not get as far as liquidation. I've always felt ambivalent about Borders. The local one was the death of Young and Welshan's, the local independent that tried desperately to stay in business in Flint, first downtown, then in two different locations out near the Genesee Valley Mall. Alas, Borders opened a store directly across the street from them, and that was the end in fairly short order.

Ironically, the Flint Borders seems to have been the victim of a bigger and better Barnes and Noble down the street at the mall itself. I admit, I prefer B&N. They have Starbucks Coffee, with more reliable service and quality than the ever-changing outfit at Borders; they have a more extensive bargain books section.

Personally, I am somewhat famously difficult to keep out of bookstores, but since the advent of Amazon, I have a tendency to use bookstores that sell new books as testing grounds for books I then order on Amazon. They are cheaper that way, and the savings is not small enough to ignore for a serious book hound. I do buy bargain books and magazines at B&N, however, and I also buy new books from time to time. Generally only when I'm in a sufficient hurry, however, and need something immediately. So obviously, it is in part me and people like me who are hastening the exit of bricks and mortar bookstores. But the world changes.

Atomic Bomb Budget

2011-02-13T10:34:00.003-05:00

Governor Snyder's budget on Thursday will be an "atomic bomb" of cuts, with something virtually everyone will dislike, according to the Detroit News. Well, I sure hope so. I'm particularly interested in the "radical reorganization of the bureaucracy". Oh boy! I could suggest some cuts there, let me tell you!

Rail and the Future

2011-02-11T16:34:00.002-05:00

The Obama administration has proposed $53 billion for high-speed rail. This article from the Economist discusses the issue of what would happen to America's highly successful freight rail system if more passenger traffic were added. One of the things never mentioned by high speed rail proponents is that it is not a successful commercial model anywhere in the world. It is heavily subsidized no matter where it is in use. Do we need it here? One can see the use in the Boston - New York - DC corridor, and no doubt there are other places. But it will be expensive, and the notion of expanding it throughout the US strikes me as an outrageously ambitious and unnecessary project.

Michigan's CEO

2011-01-23T10:52:00.002-05:00

Nolan Finley in the Detroit News discusses Governor Snyder's State of the State address of last week. In his view, Snyder's initiatives can be understood best by understanding that he is a businessman, not a politician. I think it's a good point. It was disappointing to hear of the state building a new bridge to Windsor instead of letting the private businessman who wants to build it do it... but because there was a ton of money the state needed for other purposes out there depending on the bridge issue...

Tunisia

2011-01-16T10:53:00.002-05:00

The North African state of Tunisia has startled everyone by suddenly ejecting its autocratic president in an event some are calling the "Jasmine Revolution". But there are some difficulties. Independent journalist Michael Totten describes the country here. Totten is funded by contributions, so if you like his reporting, you might consider a donation. In any case, you should certainly bookmark him.

Higher Education Bubble

2011-01-15T09:44:00.003-05:00

This article describes the data behind the suggestion that there is a bubble in higher education. That is, that the price of a college degree, at least in some cases, may exceed its intrinsic value, and this overpricing may be widespread. Look at that last chart, however... it shows that it is still quite true that the higher the degree the more compensation and the more job security.

Silver or Gold?

2011-01-14T21:34:00.001-05:00

Jeff Reeves of Market Watch touts silver over gold.

300 Countries?

2011-01-14T21:31:00.000-05:00

Foreign Policy predicts it here.

Would You Prefer Liberty Air?

2011-01-09T11:42:00.002-05:00

Jason Richwine asks whether flyers would prefer to do without security precautions in flying. My own answer... no as he describes it, because that one airline would then become a target. But if the entire industry dropped security precautions, sure. Better yet, in my opinion, would be to adopt much more minimal security. Flying has simply become a miserable ordeal. I'm going to fly again at the end of the month and not looking forward to the airport ordeal.

Don't Do Something, Just Stand There

2011-01-09T11:35:00.003-05:00

Sometimes that's the best advice. Members of Congress and other public officials are going to have to be a little wary for a while, lest there be copycats, and concern over the safety of the President and other high officials must always be a concern giving the record of political assassinations and attempts, but it's a dangerous world, and we're just going to have to accept a degree of risk.

The Ten Most Underreported Stories of 2010

2011-01-04T13:46:00.002-05:00

This list is instructive and informative.

Light Bulbs

2010-12-10T07:32:00.001-05:00

A Detroit News columnist rages against the dying of the light.

Last Mission?

2010-09-23T17:58:00.003-04:00

Michael Kinsley argues in the Atlantic Monthly for a grand mission for the Baby Boom generation as it exits public life, something worthy of the Greatest Generation that won WW II and the Cold War. Naturally, it involves higher taxes, because... let me be polite here... I don't think Mr. Kinsley can imagine a public policy that doesn't involve higher taxes. The general idea he has, though, paying down some of the national debt, would be a worthy goal.

But... is it Greatest Generation envy? I think so. I never understood all this generation thing. Technically, I'm a Boomer, born in 1961, but I never felt like it or sympathized with the generation; my father was born in 1936 but had more in common with the Boomers in most ways I could perceive. These arbitrary dates don't make a lot of sense.

Is Health Care Reform Constitutional?

2010-09-22T16:56:00.004-04:00

One of the most important legal questions facing the nation in the next year or two will be whether the health care reform act passed by Congress earlier this year is constitutional. There appear to be some genuine questions in this regard... if nothing else, it is quite an expansion of power under the Commerce Clause. That is not to say that the Supreme Court is going to be likely to strike it down, of course. I would think the odds are against it; but 60% - 40%, not worse than that.

At any rate, the best case I've seen made for the illegality of the act is a new paper from Randy Barnett, which can be accessed in full here. If and when I come across a similarly serious and convincing argument for the legality of the act, I'll link it.

(Hat tip to the invaluable Instapundit for noting this useful paper.)

Religion for Atheists

2010-09-22T14:47:00.002-04:00

Is environmentalism a religion? I've long thought so; here's an excellent discussion by Joel Garreau in The New Atlantis. Garreau is an interesting author and the author of (off the top of my head; he may have written more) The Nine Nations of North America and Edge City.

Restaurant Planning

2010-09-22T10:33:00.003-04:00

Newsweek has a good article on the topic here. (I know, who knew Newsweek was still around... they've been assiduously trying to get rid of their readers for years.)

I like to use restaurants as examples in principles of microeconomics classes. Everyone in the class, regardless of background or preparation, can grasp the issues from one perspective or another.

College Football in Flint

2010-09-21T10:49:00.002-04:00

UM-Flint has a football team... I missed that this was happening. The Flint Journal reports in this story. Well, that's good, and I'll try to go to a game soon. But... the Kodiaks? Really?

This is purely an aside, but has anyone else got the impression that the naming of sports teams is just a lost art?

Having a stupid or puzzling name tends to diminish the enthusiasm that I, at least, can regard a sports team with. I was quite enthusiastic when minor league baseball came to mid-Michigan in Lansing about 15 years ago... until the team named itself the Lugnuts. And adopted as the image of the team not a, you know, lug nut, but a machine screw of some kind. I've never been to see them. I have been to see the Great Lakes Loons. A better name, if silly.

Is Morality Innate?

2010-07-23T09:51:00.001-04:00

David Brooks describes the proposal.

Profit as Virtue in Ayn Rand's Works

2010-07-22T21:37:00.000-04:00

Interesting article in Investor's Business Daily.

PTSD Reforms

2010-07-13T08:52:00.003-04:00

The New York Times reports that a new federal regulation for how the military treats veterans with post traumatic stress disorder don't fully satisfy advocacy groups that pushed for reforms. There are good links to previous coverage at the end of the story.

Public Debt a "Growing Cancer"

2010-07-13T08:43:00.002-04:00

President Obama's debt commission will report on its findings later this year, but there was a preview Sunday.

Talent Scouts

2010-07-13T08:35:00.002-04:00

Stratfor, a private strategic forecasting company, analyzes the role of the Russian spies sent home last week. They think they were talent scouts, not conducting espionage themselves.

Echoes of the Cold War

2010-07-09T14:10:00.004-04:00

The spy swap story, in which ten recently exposed "sleeper" agents for Russia have been traded for four Russians who appear to have spied for the United States, is a scene rarely observed since the end of the Cold War.

The sleeper agents don't appear to have done much harm. I read one plausible suggestion that the Russians do these things instead of just reading the Wall Street Journal, for example, because they don't believe it is possible that the US press actually reports freely and accurately. So they'd rather operate spy rings, even ineffectual (up to the point they were arrested) and get information from them. Many also suspect the spies were intended as talent spotters for the real intelligence agents; they could identify potential spies or sources and tell the real professionals about them.

Another interesting feature of the sleeper agents is that they were actually Russian nationals sent here, rather than Americans recruited. Of course, today it is less practical to recruit Americans to betray their country for anything but rewards or blackmail. During the Cold War, some spied on the US for ideological reasons, out of loyalty to communism. So perhaps that is why it seemed wiser to send Russians who would remain loyal. But press reports suggest that they all seem to have gone native and done little harm.

I was interested in who the Russians recruited by the US are but saw little about them. This article from the Washington Post describes them.

Detroit Lions Futility

2010-07-09T12:44:00.002-04:00

According to this story, every player drafted by Matt Millen from 2002-2006 has now been traded, released or become a free agent. That has to be a record for futility and incompetence in the draft. In effect, they might as well not have bothered to draft anyone for that period. Indeed, it would have been less painful to watch if they had just forfeited all their games instead of playing them.

May Day

2010-05-01T14:20:00.002-04:00

I like this idea. Too many forget or choose to ignore, or don't understand, that by far the worst totalitarian ideology of the 20th century was not Nazism, awful as it was. Communism blighted more lives and slaughtered more people than any political movement has. The victims deserve to be remembered. The nature of the criminal ideology that murdered or abused them must be remembered.

Complexity in Afghanistan

2010-04-28T12:07:00.002-04:00

PowerPoint presentations are great things. I like to use them in classes whenever possible. But there is, I think, a rational limit to what can reasonably fit on one slide.

Geography is Destiny in Greek Crisis?

2010-04-25T09:59:00.003-04:00

Robert Kaplan thinks so. He describes the Greek debt crisis in terms of the geographical differences between Europe's north and south, east and west. Interesting to read about "Carolingian France" and "Prussian Germany", among other historical issues, in the New York Times today.

China's New Naval Power

2010-04-24T22:29:00.002-04:00

China has been expanding its navy and suddenly appears to have more strategic reach than in the past, according to this New York Times article. This would represent the most serious potential challenge to US maritime power in Asia since the days of the Red Navy.

Flint's Economic Future

2010-04-21T12:02:00.002-04:00

The Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce is having a panel discussion entitled "The Components of Flint's Economic Revitalization" on Thursday April 22. The event is taking place at the Harding Mott University Center at the University of Michigan-Flint, at 10 am. There is no charge for the event and it is open to the public.

The speakers are:

Brent Pollina, "a nationally recognized strategic planner for economic development studies"
Dayne Walling, Mayor of Flint
John Helmuth, Dean of the UM-Flint School of Management
Tim Herman, GRCC CEO

Unfortunately, I can't attend, but I would be delighted in hearing about the discussion in a class from a student or students who attend (hint, hint).

Emerging Nations Blogs

2010-04-20T11:56:00.004-04:00

I teach a class every spring called Emerging Nations with a rather broad zone of interest. I often assign students the task of setting up group blogs for each of our five regions: Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and Central Asia and the "Near Abroad". Here are links to the blogs:

Asia

Central Asia

Latin America

Middle East and North Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa

Medieval History Geek

2010-04-20T11:54:00.001-04:00

I recommend a blog called Medieval History Geek, by... well, you know.

Equal Pay Day

2010-04-20T11:43:00.003-04:00

Do women in the US earn less than men? That's a popular assumption, but this article by libertarian writer Christina Hoff Summers questions whether it's true.

Zimbabwe's Decline

2010-04-20T11:37:00.003-04:00

The Last Resort is a memoir by the son of white citizens hanging on in collapsing Zimbabwe. The book is reviewed at the American Enterprise Institute website.

Detroit's Economy

2010-04-20T00:26:00.003-04:00

The Citizen's Research Council report on Detroit's economy is available online. It makes for grim, grim reading.

I've been watching with interest as Mayor Dave Bing tries to persuade the various stakeholders in Detroit that if there aren't structural changes, bankruptcy looms. I hate to be a pessimist, but I think the bankruptcy will happen. Michiganians seem to have a limitless ability to ignore the economic realities around them, even after a ten year recession while the rest of the country boomed for much of that time.

Best Economics Books of 2009

2010-01-10T17:08:00.001-05:00

According to Real Clear Markets, these are the ten best.

Venezuela Devalues the Bolivar

2010-01-10T16:55:00.002-05:00

And for a graphic illustration of how another South American country isn't getting anything right, the socialist dictator of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, is compelled to tamper with the currency.

Why Chile is Successful

2010-01-10T11:25:00.003-05:00

The South American country of Chile is being admitted to the OECD, the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. They will be the only South American member. What has caused Chile's rise to wealth in a region known for poor economic development and corrupt government? This article explains much.

Independence at the Fed

2009-12-02T09:05:00.002-05:00

Columnist and professor Thomas Cooley (love the name!) argues for continuing independence at the Federal Reserve and defends the organization from accusations in Congress in this article.

How Private Property Rights Saved the Pilgrims

2009-11-26T08:32:00.003-05:00

The story is recounted at the Volokh Conspiracy site, here. There are links to other articles regarding these events, as well.

Geography of Jobs

2009-10-18T01:03:00.002-04:00

This is an animated map of job gains and losses over recent years. Illuminating and alarming.

More Nobel Prizes

2009-10-12T11:37:00.003-04:00

Two Americans won the Nobel Prize for Economics this year.

UPDATE: By the way, nine Americans won Nobel Prizes this year, very nearly sweeping all the categories except Literature. Quite an achievement, even if the Peace Prize for President Obama was quite controversial.

The Nobel Prizes for Physics, Medicine and Chemistry are generally regarded as fair and nonpartisan, though of course controversies arise about whether some worthy candidates are overlooked. The Literature prize has always been regarded as highly politicized; the Peace Prize is very political by its nature, and it is worth remembering that almost everyone is going to be pleased with some controversial award at some point. (Although, as Peggy Noonan points out, this is a NCNA award... No Conservatives Need Apply. Republican officeholders who have had tremendous achievements in international affairs are routinely ignored by the Peace Prize committee, while reaching the top of the Democratic party seems to be an actual qualification for winning the prize regardless of actual achievements.) The Economics prize was only added long after Alfred Nobel's death, in 1968, and sometimes seems to be given for political reasons, although free market economists have often won the prize.

320 Americans have won Nobel Prizes, far more than twice as many as the next competitors, the United Kingdom and Germany. Americans routinely dominate the hard science and economics prizes in particular, but no American has won the Literature prize since Toni Morrison in 1993; before that it was William Faulkner in 1949 (although several Eastern Europeans and a Canadian who also had American citizenship won in the intervening years).

While we're on the topic, 19 graduates or members of the faculty at the University of Michigan have won Nobel Prizes. There have also been one from Michigan State University and one from Michigan Technological University.

The Future of GM

2009-10-08T08:10:00.001-04:00

Or at any rate of its executive staff, discussed usefully here. That's about how I see it, too.

Devastation

2009-10-06T22:28:00.000-04:00

Oh how I hate the Twins.

Sotomayor's First Day on the Court

2009-10-06T08:10:00.004-04:00

This Washington Post article describes Sonia Sotomayor's first session with the Supreme Court. She was regarded as a very active questioner on the lower courts, and she quickly continued that habit.

Notice that the writer can't resist pointing out that Justice Thomas never speaks during arguments; true, but not especially revealing. Many appellate judges don't have much to say; this current Supreme Court lineup is well known to be unusually "hot". That is to say, they talk a lot.

Lawyers would prefer that the judges simply shut up and let them make their arguments in the limited time afforded them. I'm inclined to agree that Thomas is doing better by them.

(Hmm. I just suggested in a blog post that judges should shut up and let lawyers talk. I guess it's pretty obvious I teach rather than practice, eh?)

Gourmet Magazine Closes

2009-10-06T07:54:00.004-04:00

The flagship of food, the decades-old place to go for news and excellent writing on food, Gourmet, is closing, according to publisher Conde Nast. The downsizing has been predicted for a long time, as ad sales for the magazine and other Conde Nast publications have been down for two years.

But I would have guessed sister publication Bon Appetit would go, not Gourmet. Bad news for the more literary angle on food. Forbes Magazine identifies the key error: earlier this year Gourmet tried to appeal to the budget minded reader. An essential strategic mistake, because Gourmet readers don't care about budget... if they did, they'd be reading Bon Appetit. Forbes points out that Saveur, another "aspirational" toned food magazine, has better ad revenues this year. No down market nonsense for them, they kept on as if there were no recession, which better suited their readers.

Full disclosure: I'm a subscriber to Gourmet and this is a personal blow. I wonder whether their web identity, Epicurious, will go on. (Probably... they're also sponsored by Bon Appetit.)

Cash for Clunkers

2009-10-06T07:29:00.002-04:00

This Wall St. Journal article discusses the Cash for Clunkers program. The numbers are in from auto sales in September. The industry was down 25% as a whole, but the individual company numbers are more interesting: 45% down for GM and 42% down for Chrysler, but only 5% down for Ford.

Critics of the government bailout of GM and Chrysler have been predicting that the public would punish the two companies for becoming wards of the state, so to speak. It looks right now as if that prediction was accurate.

SCOTUS

2009-10-05T20:42:00.002-04:00

Need data on the new Supreme Court term? Try SCOTUS Blog! It was the first Monday in October today, when the new US Supreme Court term begins every year. There should be many interesting cases this year. Another good place to go to keep track is the Volokh Conspiracy site.

iPhone

2009-10-05T20:26:00.003-04:00

I finally bought an iPhone. When they first came out I considered it but decided to go for a Blackberry Curve; now that prices have fallen and functionality is greater, it's time to give the iPhone a try. Several immediate impressions:

1. Go to the AT&T store to have them set it up. Switching over from the Blackberry was not fun without expert help.
2. The iPhone was immediately good at what you would expect an Apple product to be good at: a computer in your pocket. That was the first thing that worked well and reliably... it runs a full-scale version of Safari, it picks up any wi-fi network in the vicinity, and the ability to use iTunes to buy music or apps was easy.
3. The iPhone was immediately bad at what you would expect an Apple product to be bad at: I still can't get email to push to the device, at all. The Blackberry did that very well and was easy to set up. But you would expect that; the Blackberry is for email.
4. The iPhone is a good iPod; I guess. I've never had an iPod. Fun to listen to music on the phone, but I'm not sure how necessary that part is.
5. Battery life is not great, but I'm not trying to conserve it, either.
6. Apps have been a disappointment so far. I want them to work like widgets on a computer, but none of them seem as functional as that, to say nothing of costing money everytime you download one. Maybe I haven't looked far enough into this, however.
7. Once I got the iPhone to talk to my rather elderly Powerbook, syncing with my calendars, address book and the like was easy. Now that was very useful to me, and smoother than the Blackberry, which has a dedicated calendar.

On the whole, I recommend the iPhone, especially if you're an Apple user to begin with. Depends a bit on what you want out of your phone... by the way, it is a better just plain phone than the Blackberry, but not as good about email.

Uh Oh

2009-10-05T20:24:00.002-04:00

Worried about the dollar as the international reserve currency? Apparently so are lots of other people.

Shut up and Salute

2009-10-05T20:21:00.002-04:00

Columnist Eugene Robinson thinks generals should "shut up and salute." Funny, that's not what Robinson and other columnists thought when the generals were liable to criticize the Bush administration... did something change?

The Fear of Political Violence

2009-09-19T21:41:00.004-04:00

We're hearing a lot from Democratic politicians and the press about their fear of political violence from the right wing of American politics.

Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, commented in an interview that she was reminded of the atmosphere in late 1970s San Francisco. (The Speaker represents SF.) She is presumably refererring to the assassination of Democratic politicians George Moscone and Harvey Milk in 1978.

Media Matters, a non-profit organization devoting to counteracting "conservative misinformation" added that "A President was killed the last time right-wing hatred ran wild like this." The writer is referring to the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963.

Well, let's do a little fact-checking, shall we?

Speaker Pelosi left some details out of her remarks about San Francisco in the late 1970s. Mayor Moscone and City Supervisor Milk were assassinated not by crazed right wingers, but by Democratic politician Dan White, who was disappointed at not being reappointed to a lucrative position.

And the Media Matters article is even more forgetful. JFK was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald, a self-described communist who had just attempted to assassinate a radical right wing American general.

What's strange here is that the rhetoric seems to assume that Americans don't recall either of these events or who was accused of the crimes. We are supposed to recall that right wingers performed these heinous deeds, apparently because right wingers are homicidal psychopaths.

The facts are not helpful to this narrative. There is a long history of political violence in the United States, on the right and the left. But these remarks seem more intended to stir up unjustified anger at the right than anything else.

Downtown Flint

2009-09-05T09:01:00.003-04:00

I've been suggesting to friends, acquaintances and classes for years that downtown Flint has some things going for it again... usually to skepticism or disdain. Here's Andy Heller's September 3 column on the subject. Sounds like things are accelerating. I've always wanted to go to a tapas bar, so I'll have to go to the 501 Bar and Grill soon.

Why Can't Somaliland Get Any Respect?

2009-09-04T06:29:00.003-04:00

This article discusses the success story of Somaliland, a province of Somalia which has governed itself responsibly as an independent state since 1991... but can't get anyone to recognize it, despte widespread dismay at Somalia's failed state status.

Galactic Cannibalism

2009-09-02T22:59:00.001-04:00

The Andromeda Galaxy, cosmic cannibal.

The Legislative Outlook

2009-09-02T13:33:00.002-04:00

As the Congress considers health care reform legislation next week, there are some practical considerations. Keith Hennesey discusses them usefully in this post. (Via Instapundit.)

The Economics of Empty Store Fronts

2009-09-01T09:25:00.001-04:00

Megan McArdle of the Atlantic Monthly discusses the issues here.

In This Corner, Weighing...

2009-08-23T23:40:00.003-04:00

This entertaining article from the Times (of London) recounts the ongoing feud between American economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman; and British historian Niall Ferguson. Both are "public intellectuals", among the current generation of speakers and writers who fill the role of, oh, say William F. Buckley and John Kenneth Galbraith from the 60s and 70s.

Personally, I am rather fond of reading both. Krugman is an excellent economist but a pugnacious partisan about politics, which makes his column hit or miss. If he talks about politics, he can become tiresome quickly; there is a cottage industry of bloggers who joyfully point out how often he is willing to change his views for short term partisan purposes. But his views on international trade are calm and serious (after all, that's what he won the Nobel Prize for). Ferguson, who often writes about economics, naturally doesn't have Krugman's credentials; but his books are illuminating and entertaining.

The most useful public intellectuals, to me, are people like leftist Christopher Hitchens or libertarian Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit.com fame. I like writers who don't change their views for partisan gain, but only because they perceive facts as having been different from what they had understood. You have to be able to criticize your own side when it deserves it, or I think you blind yourself to reality.

Cash for Clunkers

2009-08-17T13:24:00.005-04:00

This article at Forbes.com discusses the Cash for Clunkers program that has made so much news lately. The author references Frederic Bastiat's discussion of the famous "broken windows fallacy." This is the frequently made argument that repairing damage from some accident or loss generates economic activity. Bastiat was the first to point out that it merely diverted economic resources. The money paid to fix broken windows was not available to expand the business instead.

That's the most serious criticism of the Cash for Clunkers program: it subsidizes the purchase of new autos, but quite expensively. What else might we do with the cash? And then the redeemed used cars are destroyed. This eliminates valuable equipment and prevents their use by the less well-off who might be able to buy and use them.

More on Bastiat here. The page to see whether your car qualifies is here.

Is Health Care Rationing Inevitable?

2009-08-17T13:17:00.002-04:00

Writer Bill Frezza suggests that rationing and "death panels" are inevitable... although he doesn't approve.

Michigan's Budget and Politics

2009-08-17T12:51:00.002-04:00

Daniel Howe, at a Detroit News blog, bewails the lack of leadership in Lansing. Nothing new here, and nothing that is news to Michiganians, but his comments are still well taken.

Last week, national political reporter Michael Barone commented on some amazing plans for the ballot in Michigan next fall. Barone is the principal author of the biannual Almanac of American Politics. These seem like remarkably expensive propositions - a wilful defiance of reality, one might suggest.

Can the Fed Avoid Inflation?

2009-07-06T21:59:00.001-04:00

This Fortune article examines the question. My guess would be no.

Bust Out Tactics

2009-07-06T21:57:00.001-04:00

This amusing Boston Herald column compares the tactics of Massachusetts public sector unions to the mob tactic of the "bust out."

Why Did Palin Resign?

2009-07-06T20:52:00.002-04:00

Last Friday, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin announced her resignation before the end of her first term. Everyone is buzzing about why she may have done it: does she need to reposition to run for president in 2012? Can she not stand the heat? Is she weird or unstable?

My answer is no to all of these, although she might run for president, or at least position herself to do so. Here's my take.

Palin's entry into last year's presidential race as the Republican vice-presidential candidate provoked a very strange, almost demented, reaction by much of the media and the left wing of American politics (and some in the GOP, too). Is it a class thing? Is it because she's female? I'm not sure, but I am sure I've never seen a public figure more poorly treated. Most of the things believed of Palin simply aren't true: she isn't a crazed fundamentalist, has never proposed or argued for abstinence-only sex education; even her abortion views are a good deal more calm and nuanced than are believed by her critics. Nor are any of these things mysterious - a little judicious Googling will demonstrate that she is in large part a centrist reformer.

So why did she resign? My take is that she is observing a simple military axiom: it is unwise to sit and allow your enemies to shell you without responding to them or taking cover. And her enemies were very much zeroed in on her position; months after the presidential race was over and she had returned to her office in Alaska, the attacks keep coming as if the race were still on. David Letterman made a truly appalling joke about her and her daughter; Vanity Fair just did a vicious hit piece on her.

Again, leaving aside the reasons for all this ferocity against a charismatic, young and attractive reformer, I think she simply couldn't practically remain in office any longer. Petty enemies in-state have already cost her a half million in legal fees for bogus ethics charges, obviously trying to bankrupt her; the torrent of abuse directed at her minor children ever since last summer must upset her, as it would anyone. She can't campaign for higher office effectively from Alaska; it's too far away from the lower 48. So if she ever plans to do that, she needs to not be tied to an office in distant Alaska. If she means to run in 2012, every minute as governor is a minute lost for fund-raising and campaigning.

But even if she isn't running for any particular higher office, leaving office now stops the bleeding with the silly ethics charges and gives her the opportunity to travel, speak, and write. She can make money, build an organization, make contacts, and look to the future. It may not be fair, but I think that's the case.

Another comment: it is very depressing to realize two major facts here. First, Palin's enemies know now two things: attacking someone's children can force them out of office; and telling egregious lies about a politician can be made to stick. Second, everyone has just learned that running for high office without a lot of money or connections can make you a target for people trying to bankrupt you with legal bills, even if they don't have any real scandals to attack you for.

Both of those are very bad news for our republic.

Popular Paraguayan President

2009-05-10T11:29:00.001-04:00

Apparently the President of Paraguay really is the father of his country.

The End of the Sri Lankan Civil War?

2009-05-10T10:39:00.003-04:00

Strategy Page has details on the final stand of the LTTE, the so-called Tamil Tigers. The article notes that various dictatorships around the globe have either supported or taken a benevolently neutral stance on the topic of the end of the long insurgency there. Modern dictatorships are understandably interested in the principle that sovereign nations should be able to handle their own affairs without outside criticism or interference.

But the Sri Lankans are angry about the reaction to this good news in the West. The democracies have not greeted the end of Sri Lanka's quarter-century of torment at the hands of the vicious LTTE with celebration. Instead, they swallow propaganda about civilian deaths whole, and offer asylum to members of the organization who have escaped. Stories in the Western press about this always stress how their governments are pressuring Sri Lanka to stop.

It's only mildly embarassing to be on the same side as the dictatorships. That's only a coincidence; sovereignty generally is a good principle, even if tyrannical regimes also think so. But what is dismaying is how far decayed the moral sensibilities of Western civilization have become.

International Law and Israel

2009-05-07T08:59:00.002-04:00

What are Israel's military options for dealing with Hamas in Gaza? An Israeli legal adviser makes the case in this article in the Boston Globe. He makes excellent points that have been well accepted for decades, and his critique of what many legal experts in this area claim is valid in my view. A key quote:

The troubling notion that international law has no practical advice for a state facing terrorist attacks other than to grin and bear it is increasingly pervasive. John Dugard, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian territories, issued eight reports on Israel's responses to terrorism and never found a single measure adopted by Israel to be lawful or proportionate. His successor, Richard Falk, recently issued a report that goes one remarkable step further. In the conditions existing in Gaza, he asserts, any Israel military response would be "inherently unlawful." According to Falk's understanding of international law, Israel has no right whatsoever to defend itself.

Contrary to the impression created by such experts, international law is not a suicide pact. For all its limitations - which are many - it offers practical guidance to a state seeking to respond responsibly and effectively to threats to the lives of its civilians.

What's Wrong with Bailing Out Chrysler

2009-05-07T08:54:00.001-04:00

Megan McArdle of The Atlantic explains to a colleague why the only reason is to bail out the UAW.

Sitting v. Standing at Stadiums

2009-05-05T10:22:00.001-04:00

There's a European history angle, it turns out.

Baker College Defends Title

2009-04-21T10:26:00.003-04:00

Students from Baker College of Flint won the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition over the past weekend, according to this story. Congratulations! A little background from the linked news item:

The competition, hosted by The University of Texas at San Antonio's Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS), a nationally recognized leader in cyber security education, featured eight eight-member teams that were scored on their ability to operate and maintain a business network while under hostile cyber attack.

This is the Baker team's second straight victory. Note the serious competition; the other finalists were from Northeastern University and Texas A&M.

George Will on Jeans and Good Taste

2009-04-16T08:54:00.001-04:00

Columnist George will writes today on jeans and good taste. The key quote:

For men, sartorial good taste can be reduced to one rule: If Fred Astaire would not have worn it, don't wear it. For women, substitute Grace Kelly.

Good advice.

Captain Phillip's Rescue

2009-04-14T13:18:00.001-04:00

This Washington Post story gives the most detailed account I've seen so far.

The Somali Problem

2009-04-13T08:02:00.003-04:00

This post from the Strategy Page site explains the essentials of the Somali problem, with reference to why international law has become a barrier to dealing with piracy and other lawlessness instead of a protection. This is a frustrating situation, because rather obvious steps aren't taken.

First, the Somalis have one legitimate grievance: foreigners fishing in their territorial waters. It should be eliminated with international help.

Second, the pirates should be dealt with in the conventional way that has been used for hundreds of years: authorize private vessels to use force to resist, and use naval vessels to destroy their bases. Note that this necessitates changing ridiculous rules that actually deter navies afraid of being accused of war crimes by bureaucrats or activists who sometimes seem to be agents of the pirates, terrorists, rebels and etc.

Third, if entities like Puntland and the not mentioned in the article Somaliland actually organize, encourage and recognize them. For some reason no one in the UN or Western foreign ministries (or the US State Department) want to encourage the Somalis who are trying to solve their own problem. This is because the standard international answer is to never recognize alterations in international borders... which is absurd. A general reluctance to disallow border changes by force is natural, but an absolute refusal in all cases is a hindrance to solving legitimate problems.

Those three items would be a good start. Don't hold your breath.

North Korea and Soft Power

2009-04-09T09:31:00.002-04:00

In the aftermath of North Korea's latest provocation, the debate over what to do about the rogue state has resumed. This interesting article suggests that there are a good many non-military options which could be used to persuade (or coerce) Kim Jong Il's strange and belligerent state.

The thing virtually everyone agrees on is that military options are pretty much off the table for North Korea. Regime change can't be accomplished directly, other direct actions are fraught with danger, and while China supports the North Koreans, there is simply very little to be done in this regard; that was the lesson of the Korean War after all.

But the refusal of American diplomats to use available means in favor of manifestly failed diplomacy is puzzling. Perhaps the timidity of the State Department is due to the fact that they are, after all, diplomats, and do not really want to do anything else than calm, courteous diplomacy... even if it doesn't have the slightest effect on the problem at hand.

Sri Lankan Civil War Near End?

2009-04-06T00:55:00.003-04:00

According to the BBC, the Sri Lankan army has trapped the fighting forces of the Tamil Tigers in an area reserved for civilian refugees. A number of victories by the Sri Lankan government have been reported in recent years.

The UN, distressed by reports of civilian casualties, is calling for a ceasefire. One wonders whether it would be wiser and more merciful in the long run to just let the Sri Lankans finish the job.

The rebellion in Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon when a British colony, has been raging for 26 years. Tamils, some the descendants of laborers from the Indian mainland and some native to the island, have been militating for a separate state since the middle of the 20th century. In 1983, civil war began. At the height of the fighting, in 1993, the president of Sri Lanka was assassinated by the rebels. There have been several periods of negotiation previously, the most recent truce ending in 2006.

Open Letter from the Heritage Foundation

2009-02-13T14:50:00.003-05:00

The Heritage Foundation argues that the stimulus bill changes fundamental policy, and has done so under the cover of the financial crisis. The bill is being passed without any of the usual deliberative procedures, or the transparency the Democrats in Congress or President Obama promised.

In my opinion, this is unconscionable. If they think it's an emergency to pass a stimulus, fine. But the rest of the bill, the welfare and health care changes in particular, should have been considered separately. It is difficult not to assume that these things were done because the Democrats suspected that they would not survive open debate.

This is not the change we were promised.

Transparency

2009-02-13T10:44:00.002-05:00

Human Events reports that the stimulus bill is being put online, but that care was taken to put it in a non-searchable pdf format. Can't have those little people seeing what's been done with their money, I guess.

Economists Not Impressed With The Stimulus

2009-02-13T10:38:00.003-05:00

The link is here. A couple of key quotes:

"I think (doing) nothing would have been better," said Ed Yardeni, an investment analyst who's usually an optimist, in an interview with McClatchy. He argued that the plan fails to provide the right incentives to spur spending.

Stimulus plans in the past have usually been passed too late to do any good and just in time to feed inflation. This one, some think, might actually damage the economy.

All this is 25 years of government expansion jammed into one bill and sold as stimulus," said Brian Riedl, the director of budget analysis for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative policy research group.

Autism-Vaccine Link Discredited

2009-02-09T12:10:00.003-05:00

For years now, many people have been claiming that there is a link between autism in children and vaccines for childhood diseases; a classic case of mistaking correlation for causation, I would think in the absence of data. And now the study in the medical journal The Lancet that many relied on regarding this link has been exploded.

Vaccines represent a classic economic problem. For society, vaccinating children against diseases is a massive social good that has reduced illness and death tremendously. For individuals, the same applies, but not without a slight risk: that an individual child might react badly to a particular vaccination and be harmed by it. So many parents will make the rational decision to avoid vaccinations for their own children, secure in the knowledge that they are entirely avoiding that minor chance and only accepting a slight risk of illness, since most other children have received the vaccination, thereby reducing the likelihood of the disease circulating at all.

Parents who do not get their children vaccinated are therefore "free riders". They get the benefit of the vaccination program without paying the costs. However, if too many people decide to become free riders, the protection collapses for them as the disease begins circulating again. Then the free riders rather appropriately are the ones to pay a much more serious cost.

Bank of America Shares Up

2009-01-21T18:32:00.003-05:00

Word that directors at BoA are buying shares of stock of the troubled bank caused the stock price to rise. That's good news, from, ahem, a depositor's point of view. Nice to know the guys on the inside have confidence in their own efforts.

Bank of America has been in good shape, but they stepped up and bought investment bank Merrill Lynch last year when they were about to fail, and it has proven to be a strain, leading the government to lend the bank more money.

I opened a checking account at Michigan National many years ago (they had the most beautiful old fashioned office in Lansing across from the State Capitol building; I don't know if it's still the same, but I always felt like my money had to be safe when I went in), but the old bank is long gone. They were absorbed into Standard Federal in the 1990s, which was then bought by Lasalle, and most recently by Bank of America. I've never been thrilled with any of these purchases. Many strong medium sized banks seems like a better idea than huges ones that inevitably become "too big to fail". Too big to fail might be too big to begin with, I suspect.

Of course, Michigan National had previously gobbled up several state banks. There's a history here, and the Wikipedia page is good, too.

Unemployment Spikes in Michigan

2009-01-21T17:11:00.003-05:00

10.6%, the highest since 1984, according to the Detroit News. That was quick. The national rate is only at 7.2%, but Michigan has been having a one-state recession all this century so far.

Also, major complaints about the state's unemployment service getting caught off guard.

Inaugural Bibles

2009-01-19T23:03:00.004-05:00

The Explainer column at Slate.com has an excellent article on the use of bibles in Presidential inaugural ceremonies. I didn't recall that John Quincy Adams used a volume of constitutional law instead of a bible. Nice touch. And I can't recall ever hearing the rumor that LBJ took the oath on JFK's Catholic missal in the hours after he was shot. Any holy book would do, of course. Using Lincoln's bible on this occasion is a fine gesture.

Is the Two-State Solution Dead?

2009-01-19T12:18:00.004-05:00

Since the early 1990s, diplomats have been focused on creating a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip; thus, the "Two State Solution", Israel in approximately its pre-1967 territorial borders, the new Palestinian state in what is left over from the original Palestinian mandate from 1948.

There were always many problems to solve - the status of Israeli settlements in both territories, security provisions for Israel in what many have always regarded as inherently indefensible borders, the future military status of a Palestinian state, and the economic relationship between the two countries. To say nothing of the very vexed question of the old city of Jerusalem, claimed by both sides.

In 2000, the Israelis offered 98% of the land in question for a Palestinian state at Camp David, in a plan sponsored by the United States. It was rejected and a wave of terrorist violence began, apparently to induce a better offer, which of course was not forthcoming - the Israelis had probably offered everything they could. I think it would be fair to say that the Palestinians damaged their standing with the diplomatic community very badly at this point. US initiatives during the eight years of the Bush administration were desultory at best.

Instead, it was the Israelis who took steps. They quelled the so-called "second intifada", the campaign of suicide bombers attacking Israeli civilians, by more tightly controlling their borders (which decimated the Palestinian economy); and by building a security fence. This stopped the violence and delineated a provisional border, which the Israelis indicated they were willing to further negotiate (the fence is by most accounts on Palestinian land rather than Israeli). Moving the fence would permit Israel to make useful concessions in the future.

Finally, former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided to test Israeli withdrawal in the Gaza Strip. He withdrew all Israeli settlements and troops to permit the Palestinian Authority to completely control the territory. But this too was rejected, and quite angrily, by the Palestinians. Instead, the terrorist gang Hamas seized control from the Fatah party in Gaza and launched rockets into southern Israel.

In the wake of the recently concluded Operation Cast Lead by the Israeli Defense Forces, there will no doubt be another period of assessment: will Hamas continue to be able to control the Strip? Will they resume their terror campaign of rocket fire? But I think we will begin to hear more about moving beyond waiting on the Palestinians to be reasonable.

Senator Sam Brownback (R) writes in the Jerusalem Post, suggesting that the two state solution is no longer a useful plan, and that some form of control of the Gaza Strip by Egypt and the West Bank by Jordan is the next step. (Is Brownback burnishing his credentials early for a 2012 presidential campaign? Probably.)

The question would then be, do Egypt and Jordan want anything to do with these territories and populations?

UPDATE: I should have included a good link for maps. Try here.

Bush Administration's Top 5 Foreign Policy Successes

2009-01-19T12:16:00.001-05:00

All are significant, and Bush has gotten no public credit for any of them. He should.

Obama Dines with the Press

2009-01-14T19:42:00.003-05:00

There was an entertaining little flurry of surprised notices last night when it became known that President Elect Obama had gone to dinner at the home of conservative columnist George Will. Michael Barone, who was present, writes - not in detail - about his presence here. I don't know of a complete guest list, but it appears that David Brooks, Paul Gigot, Charles Krauthammer, Bill Kristol, and Peggy Noonan were also there. There was speculation that Rush Limbaugh might have been there, but I haven't seen confirmation of that.

And in the morning, Obama met with a corresponding crew of mostly liberal columnists, according to this story.

Smart politics on Obama's part to both accept Will's invitation and also to meet with the other side right away. Not that he hasn't been getting good press already, but I'm sure he'd like that to continue.