tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70453065908907753312024-03-13T19:33:02.202-05:00even yet another blagbecause the unexamined life is not worth livingGherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.comBlogger3005125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-43019406362250582522011-06-14T18:13:00.000-05:002022-06-24T17:40:32.924-05:00New Zealand's decriminalization of prostitution (2003-2009+)It's always best to <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7927461.stm">keep things in the light...</a>:<blockquote>In terms of attitudes towards prostitution, New Zealand and Europe are almost as diametrically opposed as they are in geography. Kiwis have opted for wholesale liberalisation of the sex trade, while Europeans are increasingly restricting it.
Does the New Zealand liberal approach provide a model or a warning? Henri Astier looks at its prostitution industry six years after decriminalisation
[...] key benefit of decriminalisation, according to Ms Healy, is a sea change in relations with the police: "If you're the one committing a crime, you won't ask the police for help."
Now, Ms Healy says, the girls find law enforcement officials are on their side. This idea was borne out by a parliamentary report last year, which gave a positive assessment of the reform. It said prostitutes were more likely to report violence to police, and officers were treating their complaints seriously.</blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-48583089065071612292011-02-13T20:00:00.000-06:002011-02-13T20:00:00.662-06:00Quote of the day<a href="http://qdb.us/301779">QDB: Quote #301779</a><br />
<br />
[Indogutsu] According to an "On This Day in America" calendar hanging on the wall in my office, Robert Fulton (the inventor of the steamboat) appeared before a House committee on February 14th, 1810 to explain the uses of torpedoes.<br />
[Indogutsu] So to all of you who, for whatever reason, can't find love and feel left out and bitter on Valentine's Day, you can instead use this day to remember Robert Fulton and his contributions to undersea warfare.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-91088962226998323672010-12-09T06:00:00.001-06:002010-12-09T06:00:06.279-06:00Moved to Library GrapeI've moved my blogging to <a href="http://www.librarygrape.com/">the new Library Grape.</a><br />
<br />
You might encounter a personal post here once in a blue moon, but EYAB is largely on ice.<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-67668326316960339042010-11-28T12:30:00.000-06:002010-11-28T12:30:08.422-06:00Consequences of having evolvedSmithsonian <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/The-Top-Ten-Daily-Consequences-of-Having-Evolved.html?c=y&page=1">makes a list.</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-6821547095133115752010-11-18T17:22:00.000-06:002010-11-18T17:22:12.170-06:00The limits of the Wyden-Brown approach to state innovation<a href="http://alas./">Alas.</a><br />
<br />
If state CDH plans aren't allowed yet state single-payer is, their compromise is worthless to those of us on the right, and actually a step backwards.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-73655791802514201702010-11-18T04:34:00.002-06:002010-11-18T04:40:32.234-06:00Has the fed been a failure?<div class="entry-body"><div><div class="item-body"><div><a href="http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2010/11/has-the-fed-been-a-failure.html">Alex Tabarrok</a>:<br />
<blockquote>2013 will mark the 100th anniversary of the Fed. What have we got for our money? Surprisingly little. Inflation is clearly higher in the post-Fed era as is price variability. Deflation is lower, although there is <a href="http://www.terry.uga.edu/%7Eselgin/deflation.html" target="_blank">nothing to fear</a> from secular deflation. <a href="http://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/2344.html" target="_blank">Barsky, Miron, Mankiw and Weil</a> did find that the Fed dramatically reduced seasonal interest rate variability. I have always found this result puzzling--money is easy to store and seasons are predictable so why aren't interest rates smoothed without a very elastic money supply? In anycase, it's <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V8D-46VV5H4-4/2/8de34d507a99de40a03a73750b214c91" target="_blank">not obvious</a> that smoother rates are better, although there could be <a href="http://www.phil.frb.org/research-and-data/publications/business-review/1993/brma93sc.pdf" target="_blank">small gains</a>. The big question, of course, is the variability of output. It used to be thought that output variability had decreased post-WW II but, as I pointed out in an <a href="http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2006/11/milton_friedman_4.html" target="_blank">earlier post</a>, Romer's work (see also <a href="http://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/2701.html" target="_blank">Miron</a>) has shown that when measured on a consistent basis there is no substantial decline in volatility comparing pre-WW 1 to post-WW II. (Note that is generously giving the Fed a pass on the Great Depression!)<br />
<br />
Selgin, Lastrapes and White have an excellent <a href="http://www.cato.org/pubs/researchnotes/WorkingPaper-2.pdf" target="_blank">review of the empirical literature</a> on inflation, output and other variables and conclude:<br />
<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">The Federal Reserve System has not lived up to its original promise. Early in its career, it presided over both the most severe inflation and the most severe (demand-induced) deflations in post-Civil War U.S. history. Since then, it has tended to err on the side of inflation, allowing the purchasing power of the U.S.dollar to deteriorate considerably. That deterioration has not been compensated for, to any substantial degree, by enhanced stability of real output. Although some early studies suggested otherwise, recent work suggests that there has been no substantial overall improvement in the volatility of real output since the end of World War II compared to before World War I. A genuine improvement did occur during the sub-period known as the "Great Moderation." But that improvement, besides having been temporary, appears to have been due mainly to factors other than improved monetary policy. Finally, the Fed cannot be credited with having reduced the frequency of banking panics or with having wielded its last-resort lending powers responsibly.</div></blockquote></div></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-27543141417762194932010-11-18T04:20:00.002-06:002010-11-18T04:20:45.978-06:00Quantitative easing explained<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PTUY16CkS-k?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PTUY16CkS-k?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-83987078587574417622010-11-18T04:03:00.000-06:002010-11-18T04:03:06.638-06:00Bipartisan negotiation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5DZOAtr2Rq8xc31phE2kYtoXssmwe-sAPIqs9cUIvokfwBlGUNqMlRo-7knVWIT-hdxgH1Dqz8k3JkAdMswaM-2QsgN6F2IOBdEcq1wU_wnPc_PMsNWsa8nVjWguUpNZ6Uveh7DZ8pBa/s1600/Negotiation512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5DZOAtr2Rq8xc31phE2kYtoXssmwe-sAPIqs9cUIvokfwBlGUNqMlRo-7knVWIT-hdxgH1Dqz8k3JkAdMswaM-2QsgN6F2IOBdEcq1wU_wnPc_PMsNWsa8nVjWguUpNZ6Uveh7DZ8pBa/s1600/Negotiation512.jpg" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-52906769472544019162010-11-18T00:17:00.010-06:002010-11-18T01:17:18.864-06:00Democrats want GOP lawmakers to give up their employer's healthcare<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20023107-503544.html">CBS</a>:<blockquote>A group of House Democrats has released a letter to Republican congressional leaders calling on them to announce which of their members will be forgoing their congressional benefit health insurance (which is subsidized by the government) in light of their party's opposition to health care reform overhaul legislation. <br />
"If your conference wants to deny millions of Americans affordable health care, your members should walk that walk," four Democrats write in the letter, which is addressed to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Republican leader John Boehner. "You cannot enroll in the very kind of coverage that you want for yourselves, and then turn around and deny it to Americans who don't happen to be Members of Congress." </blockquote>This is sadly revealing--when did we decide the state should treat citizens as employees?<br />
<br />
Perhaps we should also join Members of Congress in drawing government paychecks? I seem to recall Lenin getting here first.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-90480989801801558562010-11-18T00:06:00.000-06:002010-11-18T00:06:45.056-06:00Changing of the guard<img src="http://i.imgur.com/nGt9S.jpg" /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-47129474857401898212010-11-15T09:10:00.001-06:002010-11-15T09:22:33.766-06:00Yglesias argues for raising the Medicare eligibility age to 70I truly wish more people <a href="http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/11/medicare-after-obama/?">thought this way.</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-73431319012065140432010-11-15T06:03:00.002-06:002010-11-15T06:07:03.896-06:00My deficit eviceration planFinally got around to playing with the NYT's deficit reduction app, and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/13/weekinreview/deficits-graphic.html?choices=zvprh01b">here are my results.</a><br />
<br />
I choose all the domestic spending cuts, almost all the military cuts (kept the F-35 and Osprey), and the majority of health and social security cuts. I extended all the Bush-era tax cuts, but added a carbon tax and reduced the mortgage interest rate deduction. And I'm especially fond of the Bowles-Simpson plan that zeros out tax expenditures to broaden the tax base while lowering rates--though I would want to lower rates even further than their proposal (since I'm saving so much on the spending side).<br />
<br />
Ah well, we must allow ourselves to dream from time to time. Now back to the bleak art of the possible...<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-6318875210030461122010-11-13T20:40:00.001-06:002010-11-13T20:41:40.441-06:00Napolitano interviews the Pauls<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YfNYOhNXMqQ?fs=1&hl=en_US&start=45&showinfo=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YfNYOhNXMqQ?fs=1&hl=en_US&start=45&showinfo=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-56672754696745167332010-11-13T18:30:00.001-06:002010-11-13T18:31:33.217-06:00Saudi Arabia bans Facebook?<a href="http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/11/13/177231/Saudi-Arabia-Bans-Facebook?from=rss">Slashdot</a>:<br />
<blockquote>gandhi_2 sends in a brief Associated Press piece on <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iILDGwFR-5nxbYbTGSXgyhv8IZWQ?docId=5122083">Saudi Arabia's blocking of Facebook</a>. "An official with Saudi Arabia's communications authority says it has blocked Facebook because the popular social networking website doesn't conform with the kingdom's conservative values. ... He says Facebook's content had 'crossed a line' with the kingdom's conservative morals, but that blocking the site is a temporary measure." <a href="http://www.batangastoday.com/facebook-blocked-in-saudi-arabia/5799/">Some reports</a> indicate that at least some individual Facebook pages can be reached from inside the kingdom. There hasn't been an official announcement; the source noted above requested anonymity. Earlier this year when <a href="http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/05/19/216245/Pakistan-Court-Orders-Facebook-Ban-Over-Mohammed-Images">Pakistan</a> and <a href="http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/05/30/2127234/Bangladesh-Blocks-Facebook-Over-Muhammad-Cartoons">Bangladesh</a> banned Facebook, it was over particular content — cartoons of Mohammed — and the Saudi ban may prove similar once more details emerge.</blockquote>Meanwhile, Turkey is more excited...<br />
<br />
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TcE892gZhs8?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TcE892gZhs8?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
<br />
I chatted with a few Turks about this. It narrates the singer meeting his love on Facebook. He's one of those idiot celebrities who's disdained by most people in the country.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-65165728733276408742010-11-12T11:43:00.003-06:002010-11-12T11:55:59.187-06:00Why do people hate QE2?<a href="http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2010/11/qeii-follow-up.html">Tyler Cowen</a>:<br />
<blockquote>[T]he libertarian right is having a hard time seeing the Fed as a relative ally over the last three years, which it has been. That admission implies an unappetizing shift in the goal posts for what is possible, and that sounds like a intellectual surrender to a lot of people I know. I think they are in denial. One alternative to acceptance is to view the Fed as sinister, which then leads you to fear anything they do, including QEII, their current major monetary policy initiative."</blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-13519045880438016102010-11-12T04:18:00.001-06:002010-11-12T04:19:10.012-06:00How to think about QE2<a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/11/how_to_think_about_qe2.html">This post at Ezra's</a> has a straightforward explanation.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-82693718600983362612010-11-11T17:17:00.000-06:002010-11-11T17:17:55.464-06:00Make steak, not war!<a href="http://idle.slashdot.org/story/10/11/11/144211/Feeling-Upset-Look-At-Some-Meat">Slashdot</a>:<br />
<blockquote>A study out of Canada claims that <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/seeing-meat-calms-you-down-study-says/article1793519/">seeing meat actually calms a person down</a>. From the article: "Contrary to expectations, a McGill University researcher has discovered that seeing meat makes people significantly less aggressive. Frank Kachanoff, who studies evolution at the university’s department of psychology, had initially thought the presence of meat would provoke bloodlust, believing the response would have helped our primate ancestors hunt. But in fact, his research showed the reverse is true."</blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-90034535421701210302010-11-11T16:19:00.003-06:002010-11-11T16:20:27.088-06:00Gary Johnson on drug policy<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8Gq11FBBN3g?fs=1&hl=en_US&showinfo=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8Gq11FBBN3g?fs=1&hl=en_US&showinfo=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-43202027875556012182010-11-11T16:17:00.003-06:002010-11-11T17:22:16.425-06:00Obamacare and the War on DrugsCommerce clause karma <a href="http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=12546">bites</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-62977988519414402582010-11-11T00:30:00.000-06:002010-11-11T03:39:31.430-06:00Culture matters<a href="http://www.eastbayexpress.com/gyrobase/rich-black-flunking/Content?oid=1070459&showFullText=true">Rich, Black, Flunking</a>:<br />
<blockquote>The black parents wanted an explanation. Doctors, lawyers, judges, and insurance brokers, many had come to the upscale Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights specifically because of its stellar school district. They expected their children to succeed academically, but most were performing poorly. African-American students were lagging far behind their white classmates in every measure of academic success: grade-point average, standardized test scores, and enrollment in advanced-placement courses. On average, black students earned a 1.9 GPA while their white counterparts held down an average of 3.45. Other indicators were equally dismal. It made no sense.<br />
<br />
[..] [Professor Ogbu] and his research assistant moved to Shaker Heights for nine months in mid-1997. They reviewed data and test scores. The team observed 110 different classes, from kindergarten all the way through high school. They conducted exhaustive interviews with school personnel, black parents, and students. Their project yielded an unexpected conclusion: It wasn't socioeconomics, school funding, or racism, that accounted for the students' poor academic performance; it was their own attitudes, and those of their parents.<br />
<br />
Ogbu concluded that the average black student in Shaker Heights put little effort into schoolwork and was part of a peer culture that looked down on academic success as "acting white." Although he noted that other factors also play a role, and doesn't deny that there may be antiblack sentiment in the district, he concluded that discrimination alone could not explain the gap.<br />
<br />
"The black parents feel it is their role to move to Shaker Heights, pay the higher taxes so their kids could graduate from Shaker, and that's where their role stops," Ogbu says during an interview at his home in the Oakland hills. "They believe the school system should take care of the rest. They didn't supervise their children that much. They didn't make sure their children did their homework. That's not how other ethnic groups think."</blockquote>(<a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/e449s/recent_story_about_the_proficiency_of_black/">reddit</a>, 1200 comments)<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-74927897306071067862010-11-10T18:36:00.001-06:002010-11-10T18:40:04.239-06:00Class injustice<a href="http://i.imgur.com/GCNy7.jpg"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/GCNy7.jpg" style="max-width: 1299px; width: 100%;" /></a><br />
<noscript>&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;</noscript>A redditor <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/e42tp/this_pretty_neatly_illustrates_who_is_really_in/">comments</a>:<br />
<blockquote>I'm in Law School and this illustrates how bad the system is rigged to favor the wealthy, and literally nothing can be done to change it.<br />
<br />
Just as an example: The Plea Bargain - which the homeless guy most likely took.<br />
<br />
The plea bargain is supposed to keep the court free and moving along, but what it does to the poor who can't afford a lawyer, is forcing them to plea to charges they are likely not even guilty of simply because their lawyer doesn't have the time or money to fight them (PubDef)<br />
<br />
The AIG guy has a lawyer who will bury the ADA in paperwork. The ADA knows this, but has to get this guy in jail, but the AIG guy lawyer is good, and knows that he can drag out a trial over the next 2-4 years... the ADA doesn't want to do this... he's got fucking murders to try, so he offers the AIG [just] 4 years for a far more heinous crime... and he takes it, because no matter how well his lawyer fought, 2-4 years later, he'd be doing 20... the state just doesn't have the resources to take rich people to jail for 20 years.</blockquote>Another adds the sort of explanation I was more familiar with:<blockquote>I think it is more of how the laws are written, the poor guys was probably charged a federal crime for stealing from a bank. That is usually a violent crime, and as such carries a minimum amount of prison time much higher than fraud that isn't a violent crime.</blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-21155328962496890712010-11-09T13:00:00.003-06:002010-11-09T13:00:00.437-06:00Darunde's Sandstorm on a toy trumpet<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lDhAdMkn9uo?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lDhAdMkn9uo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
For once I agree with the top youtube comment:<blockquote>At first I was like -_- then I was like ∙___∙!!! then I was like :D :D :D</blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-14553446026612786742010-11-09T08:34:00.000-06:002010-11-09T08:34:59.366-06:00Good news I supposeReihan Salam <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/agenda/252835/you-wont-hear-much-about-un-human-development-index-year-reihan-salam">directs</a> us to the <a href="http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/">latest UN Human Development Index statistics</a>:<br />
<blockquote>1. Norrway (4,676,305)<br />
2. Australia (21,515,754)<br />
3. New Zealand (4,252,277)<br />
4. United States (310,232,863)<br />
5. Ireland (4,622,917)<br />
6. Liechtenstein (35,002)<br />
7. Netherlands (16,783,092)<br />
8. Canada (33,759,742)<br />
9. Sweden (9,074,055)<br />
10. Germany (82,282,988)</blockquote>I won't pretend to know what this really means, but apparently the US is doing well.<br />
<br />
Political theorist Jacob Levy <a href="http://twitter.com/jtlevy/status/950093142294529" target="_blank">tweeted</a> (in jest)<br />
<blockquote>New Human Development Index released. Wasn't HDI's whole purpose to have Canada and Sweden outrank US? Fail.</blockquote>Hah. I suppose progressives can try to praise health care reform (though it hasn't taken effect and has nothing to do with these numbers yet).<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-20158631371427382612010-11-09T05:55:00.002-06:002010-11-09T06:04:36.960-06:00Dueling sequiturs<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/HDA43.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 500px; width: 100%;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">point</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://theuklibertarian.com/2010/11/08/non-sequitur-cartoon-fixed/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/yu9Mp.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">counter point</td></tr>
</tbody></table>You can quibble with the simplifications in both, but I maintain the second is far more accurate.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7045306590890775331.post-56675737071670409242010-11-08T18:36:00.008-06:002010-11-08T18:49:59.255-06:00Texas judge gives 7 year old right to decide custody<a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/e30e3/texas_judge_gives_7_year_old_right_to_decide/">A seven year old boy</a> was at the center of a county courtroom drama yesterday when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy had a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulation requiring that family unity be maintained to the highest degree possible.<br />
<br />
The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried and said that they also beat him.<br />
<br />
After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him. After two recesses to check legal references and confer with the child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the Dallas Cowboys, whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone.<br />
<br />
Oh lordy. Perhaps the kid could teach them a trick play:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0UIdI8khMkw?fs=1&hl=en_US&showinfo=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0UIdI8khMkw?fs=1&hl=en_US&showinfo=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><div style="display:inline;"><img
src="http://c.statcounter.com/4725920/0/7d81abb6/1/" style="border:none;"/></div></div>Gherald Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14018224925808657621noreply@blogger.com1