Archive for 2009
May 28, 2009
ANN ALTHOUSE: Do we know what Sotomayor thinks about abortion rights? “Some people assume Obama wouldn’t have picked her if she doesn’t support abortion rights, but is that really the case?”
A CIVIL-RIGHTS SETBACK IN TENNESSEE: Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen vetoes a bill to allow licensed gun-carry in restaurants. An override is expected.
UPDATE: More from SayUncle, who says it’s a symbolic veto that will be overridden.
MAX SCHULZ: “President Obama is absolutely right that we can learn a lot from the European approach to energy. But he is dead wrong on what those lessons are.”
THE PROMISE OF geoengineering.
A DEVICE THAT HARVESTS your drinking water from the air.
REVISING THE DSM-IV INTO THE DSM-V.
There are high stakes here – a DSM-sanctioned diagnosis can make a huge difference in treatment, insurance coverage, and perception of a disorder. But these are not easy decisions to make: “Some psychiatrists warn that the tome runs the risk of medicalizing the normal range of human behaviors; others vehemently argue that it must be broad enough to guide treatment of those who need it.” Homosexuality was listed as a disorder in the second edition; one of the issues that has been discussed for the fifth edition is whether bitterness could be considered a mental disorder.
The process — which has been particularly iffy this time around — makes one doubt how much substance is there, as opposed to faddish opinion.
BRINGING OUT THE Zune HD. “In short, the Zune HD is aggressively positioning itself against Apple’s iPod touch, with its multitouch capability and App Store. What Microsoft is hoping will set the Zune HD apart are its HD radio offering and native integration with the XBox and Windows PCs, creating a sort of cloud for music and video content purchases from the soon-to-be-launched Zune Marketplace.”
ED MORRISSEY: “Right now, the United States has responded to a lack of demand for its Treasuries through a questionable and disturbing method: we’re buying our own debt. That allows the yields to remain low, but buying our own debt is somewhat akin to creating your own credit card. . . . What would a world with the United States in the second financial tier of nations mean? We would have significantly less foreign investment, to start, and that has other implications besides just the impact to our economy. We rely on economic engagement with other nations as a not-inconsequential portion of our national security and foreign policies.”
TODD BENSMAN: Drug Cartels Use Failed States to Traffic in Chemicals.
USING PULSARS FOR INTERSTELLAR NAVIGATION: “The signals from pulsars form a natural GPS system that could locate any object in the galaxy to within a meter.”
BACK TO BASICS: “The USDA established the National Organic Program and the term certified organic for crops in 1992 and for meat in 1999. But today, Tennessee has only 23 certified organic crop producers in the state and only one certified organic meat producer. . . . Many Tennessee farmers still aren’t interested in farming organically, says Wszelaki, either because they don’t agree with it philosophically, or they think it would be too labor-intensive and expensive to do.”
SILICON GRAFFITI: 21st Century Schizoid Mad Men. “You’d think that advertising would be the most political neutral environment around. Historically, most business owners have been reluctant to talk politics; why anger half your customers? But an increasing number of corporations — or at least the ad agencies they hire to promote their wares—seem to love pushing the edge. And not surprisingly, that edge points sharply to the left.”
DON’T MISS THE FLAME AZALEAS on Gregory Bald.
BURSTING THE Higher Ed Bubble? “From an economic point of view, in other words, a college degree costs more and more and returns less and less. Kind of like a hot stock with a price-to-earnings ratio of 32, it’s a prelude to a crash. . . . As the number of job applicants with degrees rises, employers become more sophisticated in assessing the value of any particular degree. The degree itself matters less than the institution that granted it, the subject areas of concentration, and the grade point average earned. A 4.0 math degree from Cal Tech is a very different thing from a 2.8 communications degree from San Francisco State University. Now the next question is: Will consumers become more sophisticated too? Tuition, room and board at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill cost a little over half what they cost at nearby Duke. Is a Duke education really twice as valuable as one from UNC?”
PEOPLE TEND TO REBEL AGAINST EXCESS NANNYING, EVEN WHEN THE NANNIES ARE RIGHT: Healthy Lifestyles On Decline In United States. Then, of course, there’s the way the advice tends to change over time.
REVIEWING THE NEW 2010 Toyota Prius. “During our week, the Prius returned a healthy 47 mpg with a driving style that was modest but could not be described as hyper-miling. It took comparatively little effort to get some very impressive numbers.” Plus this: “It’s almost fun to drive.”
IN THE MAIL: From Mark Teppo, Lightbreaker.
J.D. JOHANNES IS GETTING READY TO LEAVE FOR AFGHANISTAN. If you want to support him, consider buying one of his DVDs. They’re good!
CLAUDIA ROSETT on the 20th Anniversary of the Tiananemen Square uprising. “I’d say at least two enduring and important messages came out of Tiananmen. Both sorely need remembering, especially as the world today seems to be losing its bearings on the immense value of individual freedom.”
MURTHA UPDATE: Earmarks for Campaign Cash?
CHRIS DODD UPDATE: Dodd Shows Signs of Life in Connecticut.
IF YOU’RE A GUN OWNER, you may be a “terrorist.”