Archive for February, 2010

OUR FINE GOVERNING CLASS: “The common thread here is a twisted sense of entitlement; all of these folks in high office encountered circumstances where the rules and laws that the rest of us have to follow proved inconvenient, too inconvenient to interrupt the important work of these important men.”

ALEX TABARROK: Insiders, Outsiders and Unemployment. “I am more worried, however, about the long term consequences of creating a dual labor market in which insiders with government or government-connected jobs are highly paid and secure while outsiders face high unemployment rates, low wages and part-time work without a career path. . . . Moreover, once an economy is in the insider-outsider equilibrium it’s very difficult to get out because insiders fear that they will lose their privileges with a deregulated labor market and outsiders focus their political energy not on deregulating the labor market but on becoming insiders.”

TWITPIC: Tsunami warning produces gas lines in Kurtistown on the big island. It’s a good idea to keep your tank at least half-full so you can avoid these . . .

More twitter updates from Catherine Toth. And more links here, or just scroll down. More from Xeni Jardin, too.

UPDATE: Thanks to reader Joe Johnson, here’s a Kona beach webcam. Also, more on Twitter at #hitsunami.

MORE: TSUNAMI HITS POLYNESIA: “A weak tsunami has hit the Gambier islands in French Polynesia but there’s been no major damage because traffic was suspended in the region in a tsunami alert following the quake in Chile. Huge waves struck the Gambier archipelago at 6:30am on Saturday (3.30am AEDT Sunday), the high commissioner’s office in Papeete said. Sirens wailed in French Polynesia and PA systems woke up residents on Saturday to alert them about the impending waves.” Warning is important.

BANG! BANG! You’re safe!

IN INMAN MAJORS’ NOVEL, THE MILLIONAIRES, a political consultant explains that there are really only two kinds of political campaigns: “A Bright New Day,” and “Back to Basics.” My guess is that 2008 shot the “Bright New Day” wad for a while, which means that a “balding, blunt, unprepossessing” Mitch Daniels may have a shot . . . .

ANDY MCCARTHY on the Administration’s plans for “economic transformation.” “This is about power, and there is more to power than winning elections, especially if you’ve calculated that your opposition does not have the gumption to dismantle your ballooning welfare state.”