Archive for 2010

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: How close are we?

HOW THE INTERNET won Massachusetts for Scott Brown. Well, it was actually people, who by using the Internet to organize, helped Scott Brown win. Somebody should write a book on this phenomenon.

MAKING MONEY ON THE CHEVY VOLT WON’T BE EASY. The obvious solution: More federal subsidies!

THE HILL: Blanche Lincoln Presses Obama On Party “Extremists.” “She also took a swipe at Obama’s White House, referencing a constituent who ‘fears that there’s no one in your administration that understands what it means to go to work on Monday and make a payroll on Friday.'”

BAD REVIEWS FOR TOYOTA’S HANDLING of the recall issue. Of course, it’s very convenient for GM, etc. that Toyota had a problem right about now. As reader Hugh Myers writes: “Has it occurred to anyone that as owner of GM the US Government’s rather enthusiastic pursuit of Toyota regarding supposed product defects involves the government in a conflict of interest?”

UPDATE: LaHood Says Comment on Toyota Was ‘Misstatement’.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Transportation Secretary Emily Litella.

DRUDGE IS CHARGING MANIPULATION: U.S. May Lose 824,000 Jobs as Employment Data Revised. “The U.S. may lose 824,000 jobs when the government releases its annual revision to employment data on Feb. 5, showing the labor market was in worse shape during the recession than known at the time.” It does seem like the initial numbers are always rosier — and louder — than the quiet revisions that appear later.

MARCH 20 is Obscura Day.

IN THE MAIL: From Mark Teppo, Heartland.

OBAMA’S MIXED MESSAGES. From Memeorandum.

mixedmessages020310

UPDATE: Reader Brian Dunn emails: “Maybe it’s just me, but isn’t the ‘good cop, bad cop’ routine supposed to have two cops?”

NEW YORK POST: A $2 Trillion Tax Hike. Hey, those government-issue Gulfstreams don’t come cheap.

THOUGHTS ON THE E-BOOK PRICING DEBATE from Stephen Green.

A REMINDER FROM JIM TREACHER: John Edwards has an illegitimate daughter named Frances with a woman named Rielle who he hired to follow him on the campaign trail, and then he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in an insane attempt to cover it up. “Everybody pretty much gets the gist of that now, but there’s no harm in saying it outright. Even Edwards isn’t bothering to deny it anymore.”

And the press covered for him for political reasons. No harm in saying that outright, either.

HOW OBAMA COULD save his presidency. I don’t see this happening.

OSCAR NOMINATIONS: Five surprises.

PRESSURE: White House Gets Reuters to Pull Budget Story. I’ve got nothing against inaccurate stories being pulled — or, better, corrected — but they seem a lot quicker to do this for the current administration than for the last one. . . .

LAS VEGAS TO PRESIDENT OBAMA: Pretend We Don’t Exist. “People in Las Vegas and other Nevadans have just about had it with President Barack Obama invoking their city’s name when he wants to make a point about wasteful spending.”

Yeah, Washington, D.C. kinda overshadows them. . . .

UPDATE: Blowing Cash in Vegas v. Blowing Cash in DC.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Rob Bohn emails: “I don’t know if this is already scheduled – but shouldn’t the Republican National Convention in 2012 be held in Las Vegas? That should be good for a few Nevada electoral votes.” Heh. And I’ll bet they could get a good deal on the hall. . .