Quips: Quick commentary on politics, technology and life, I think.

Wednesday, November 24

Watch out for those camera phones

In an attempt to keep up with e-mail I get from my relatives, and provide a public service, here's some things you might be finding in your inbox:

Keep a watch out for people standing near you in the checkout line at retail stores, restaurants, grocery stores, etc who have a camera cell phone in hand. With the camera cell phones, they can take a picture of your credit card, which gives them your name, number, and expiration date.

But don't worry too much. Snopes hasn't seen any reports of this actually happening, but does concede that it is theoretically possible. About.com tells a similar tale, adding that law enforcement may have picked this up, helping to spread a rumor that seems to have started in January 2004.

There was also a reference to God Speaks - the folks behind the billboards like, "Don't make me come down there. -God"

Posted by jb, 9:01 PM :: :: #

Saturday, November 20

Headlines that won't make you happy

Apparently, this is what the people voted for, but you'd think these kind of priorities wouldn't go over that well:

• Bill Clears Way for Government to Cut Back College Loans: "The federal government will be able to require millions of college students to shoulder more of the cost of their education under the new spending bill before Congress."
• Rebellious Republicans Derail 9 / 11 Reform

Posted by jb, 6:33 PM :: :: #

Thursday, November 18

Time to talk taxes

The Washington Post has the first glimpse of the administration's tax proposals. As you read this, remember that the federal graduated income tax is the only progressive part of our tax system. Everything else generally hits poor people harder than it hits rich people. Here's the proposal:

• shield interest, dividends and capitals gains from taxation (so, unearned income, anything that isn't worked for, so sweat or labor is expended here, that's free and clear)
• expand tax breaks for business investment (so, if you've got some money to give to a business owner, by all means. If you need to buy broccoli, too bad.)

The changes are meant to be revenue-neutral. To pay for them, the administration is considering:

• eliminating the deduction of state and local taxes on federal income tax returns (Hmm, I don't think Texas and Florida have state income taxes, so they don't benefit from the current system. Hmm.)
• scrapping the business tax deduction for employer-provided health insurance (so we lose an incentive for a business to provide health insurance to its workers? Am I reading that right?)

Dan Froomkin has more in his White House Briefing.

On the rest of the tax front, the LA Times has an op-ed looking at the possiblity we could tax people based on how much they drive without having to put toll booths up everywhere. Seems as more fuel-efficient vehicles hit the road, gas taxes may not pay for all the road projects. At least this would make those who use them pay for them.

On a completely non-tax note, I give you the NYT and the BBC on why we are meant to run long distances. Which doesn't mean I'm going to start doing it.

Posted by jb, 5:32 PM :: :: #

Wine update

I think we've got our wine picked out, but if you're still looking, there's quite the shopping list at the SF Chron, with some easy advice thrown in:

"Stay away from oaky whites and tannic reds. Your best bet is to uncork wines with loads of fruity character."

Posted by jb, 1:16 PM :: :: #

Wednesday, November 17

Even better, and fresher, headlines

• 9/11 Fund Disbursements Could Have Been More Fair, Report Finds: "...It fueled the divisiveness which was inevitable when the statute required different amounts for everybody," said Kenneth R. Feinberg, special master of the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund.
• Ireland is named 'best country': Ireland is the best place to live in the world, according to a "quality of life" assessment by Economist magazine.
• Abraham won't be missed: The SF Chronicle's David Lazarus is unimpressed by the work done at the Energy Department by the former Michigan senator and GOP operative.

And finally, best of all:

• WINES OF THE TIMES: What Becomes a Turkey Most - And the winner is:

  In general, lean white wines, especially those with mineral flavors and crisp acidity, are the best over the long haul. They are refreshing and keep the appetite sharp. But by all means do not neglect the reds. The drier the red, the better, we decided.

Posted by jb, 5:27 PM :: :: #

Another headline buffet

Articles I need to link to before my browser gives up:

• The Political Veteran: He Survived Vietnam and Won the Senate. Could Chuck Hagel Take the White House?
• GOP's Future Sits Precariously on Small Cushion of Victory: LAT's Ronald Brownstein finds that, amid all the postelection tumult, it's easy to lose sight of what President Bush did — and did not — accomplish in his reelection victory this month.
• Fewer enroll at 6 Michigan colleges: "At a time when Michigan's two largest universities have unusually large freshman classes, six of the state's 15 public universities are grappling with fall enrollment drops that are forcing them to ramp up recruiting efforts to offset millions of dollars in lost tuition."
• Ballparks in West Offer D.C. Divergent Lessons: Seattle and Denver have vastly different experiences when it comes to economic development near new sports stadiums.

Posted by jb, 3:11 PM :: :: #

Wednesday, November 10

Our morning whirlwind tour of headlines

Things that look like the best reads of the day:

• Law Leaves Schools Behind: High achievers are using the No Child Left Behind transfers meant for struggling students in the D.C. area.
  » Exactly what some of us were afraid of - private and charter schools will only help the students who are the easiest to help, leaving the "failing" schools to work with the neediest students, probably with smaller budgets because per pupil spending won't change, even though these students need more help.
• Unions Confront Postelection Reality: In what probably will be a somber meeting, leaders gather today to ponder organized labor's survival in the next four years.
  » Yeah, it doesn't look good. But workers in a broad range of industries don't see the benefits, management certainly doesn't want to deal with them and the party in power, if nothing else, sees a drag on profits. Not a recipe for success. But not exactly triggered by last week's balloting.
• Rove: Gay marriage a big factor in election: The architect of President Bush's re-election campaign says Massachusetts' legalization of same-sex marriage "colored the national imagination."
  » Yep, the rest of the country is afraid of them Nor'eastern lib-rals. And we don't really want judges deciding what "equal protection" means. RedEye kicks in with Was there a same-sex marriage backlash? Somebody should tell them that Uncle Karl believes it, so it must be so. And the SF Chronicle looks at the other side with Gay message reframed: Refusing to retreat on their push for same-sex marriage, leaders decide on how to appeal to Middle America.
• Wireless net to cover downtown Seattle: A high-speed wireless network is being rolled out by an Internet service provider.
• Islamist domain: Why the net - not the mosque - is trying to win Muslim minds
• From the sports section: Altar ego: Religious faith defines Avant at U-M, not just his football ability.
• Great Coffee at Home: The New York Times looks at machines that promise espresso and frothy coffees at the touch of a button. Too bad we already have one.

Posted by jb, 11:28 AM :: :: #

Tuesday, November 9

The Political and the Personal

Two headlines for your day's reading:

• When the Personal Shouldn't Be Political: Former Sen. Gary Hart writes to the New York Times about the collision of religion and politics. "If we are to insert "faith" into the public dialogue more directly and assertively, let's not be selective. Let's go all the way. Let's not just define 'faith' in terms of the law and judgment; let's define it also in terms of love, caring, forgiveness. ... Neither Washington, Adams, Madison nor Jefferson saw America as the world's avenging angel. Any notion of going abroad seeking demons to destroy concerned them above all else."
• At His Doorstep: Nick Holt gave up USC prestige to be the head coach at Idaho. Then, the unimaginable happened.
    The LA Times takes a look at coaches dealing with the death of a player and more than one says it's the hardest thing, but they still view it as part of the job, part of bringing up young men. Heartening to see these people you assume to be win-at-all-costs speak about how they "failed" the mothers and fathers whose living rooms they sat in.

Posted by jb, 4:24 PM :: :: #

Monday, November 8

Hope that not all is wrong with the world

Two hopeful stories out of Saturday's Free Press that I hadn't gotten around to posting about:

• Tilting at Wal-Mart: Michigan's Meijer battles giant competitor with focus on selection, value, convenience - At least somebody's taking on the Big Boy from Bentonville. However small, I pledge to continue to help the fight.
• Swing to right not likely for high court: Justices tend to follow precedent in rulings - Stephen Henderson has a story with a number of sources that believe any change to the court, and any subsequent changes the court might hand down, won't be nearly what radicals on either side of the partisan divide might have us believe. "It's a place where the rule of law and precedent mean everything, and politics plays a minimal role."

Posted by jb, 11:09 PM :: :: #

Sunday, November 7

Election Wrap-Up

There's four years of analysis to do, so we're not going to get it all done in a week. There's national and state-by-state considerations. But I'm sick of the "Democrats are dead" analysis and a little worried that the country is breaking into regional factions and an urban vs. rural divide.
  In any case, here's some of the finest reading around:

• What Happened in Ohio: GOP Won With Accent On Rural and Traditional and you might also be interested in the actual numbers (I'll give you more on that later, maybe).
• The Dangers of Lopsidedness - Yeah, it's a Safire column - "This imbalance will ultimately trigger Rayburn's law: 'When you get too big a majority,' said Speaker Sam Rayburn, a Democrat, after F.D.R.'s 1936 landslide, 'you're immediately in trouble.'"
• Two Nations Under God - But what troubled me yesterday was my feeling that this election was tipped because of an outpouring of support for George Bush by people who don't just favor different policies than I do - they favor a whole different kind of America. We don't just disagree on what America should be doing; we disagree on what America is.
• The Red Zone - Actually, Maureen Dowd doesn't acquit herself well with this column, it's more of a rant than an analysis. "Meanwhile, the blue puddle is comforting itself with the expectation that this loony bunch will fatally overreach, just as Newt Gingrich did in the 90's." (I'm pretty sure this theory isn't going to work this time.)
• Democrats get a lesson in morality - Rochelle Riley urges Democrats to get some religion, if only because African-Americans don't want to feel their abandoning their faith when they step into the voting booth. In the words of the Rev. Edgar Vann: There were people who, even in these various battleground states, even who had lost jobs, chose to take a high moral stand on issues they felt speak to the unraveling of our country." And if Democrats can't help these votes protect their kids from the perceived evils in the world, they're going to walk toward the GOP, if not get pushed in that direction.

Posted by jb, 8:03 PM :: :: #

Tuesday, November 2

Now here are some indicators

Across the country there are six counties that have voted for the winner each time in recent presidential elections. (One version of the AP story.) So if you'd like to check in on how the race is going, here's where to go (thanks to the Lexington Herald-Leader's Kentucky.com:

UPDATE 11/4 9:23 p.m. - Since I'm sure you wanted to know, I've added the results from our favorite counties.

• Logan and Van Buren, Ark. - Bush: 5,057 to 3,357 and 3,719 to 3,310
• Vigo, Ind. - Bush: 20,988 to 18,426
• Lincoln, Mo. - Bush: 11,316 to 8,367
• Eddy, N.M. - Bush: 13,240 to 6,866
• Ferry, Wash. - Bush: 1,969 to 1,156

New Castle, Del., and Socorro, N.M., went for Gore last time, so some might point out that they did just fine at predicting the winner of the popular vote. And this time, both went for Kerry:3,991 to 3,677 and 145,935 to 92,973.
  So I guess we'll be doing this again in four years.

Posted by jb, 8:26 PM :: :: #

 More in the archives.

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