Archive for 2011
October 26, 2011
OCCUPY WALL STREET: A Zombie ACORN Production? “Sources said NYCC has hired about 100 former ACORN-affiliated staff members from other cities – paying some of them $100 a day – to attend and support Occupy Wall Street. Dozens of New York homeless people recruited from shelters are also being paid to support the protests, at the rate of $10 an hour, the sources said.”
INTERESTED IN BECOMING A LAW PROFESSOR? You might want to read Becoming a Law Professor: A Candidate’s Guide, by Brannon Denning, Marcia McCormick, and Jeff Lipshaw. The ABA Press certainly seems to think it’s got a winner on its hands, to judge from the price . . . .
IN THE MAIL: Decision Points, now in paperback.
WALTER RUSSELL MEAD ON THE LATEST INSIDER-TRADING SCANDAL: The Boomer Establishment Sinks Deeper Into Failure and Shame. Let me just point out that these Wall Streeters were big Obama donors. . . .
UPDATE: Clayton Cramer: More Dirty Wall Street Sorts–And Of Course, Big Democrat Donors. With a handy spreadsheet.
HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Rise in Sticker Price at Public Colleges Outpaces That at Private Colleges for 5th Year in a Row.
WHY POLITICIANS lose so much money trying to pick winners.
MICHAEL PATRICK LEAHY: The Price Of Civilization? “Holmes issued his famous quote back in 1904, during the142 year period between 1789 and 1931 when peace time federal spending as a percentage of GDP never exceeded 4 percent. I note today that under policies Professor Sachs supports, federal spending as a percentage of GDP–at 24 percent– is now six times greater than it was during Justice Holme’s prime. When Justice Holmes delivered that famous quote, I’m pretty sure he didn’t have the current level of taxation in mind as the ‘price’ of civilization. At 24 percent of GDP, we’re dramatically overpaying for civilization.”
AT AMAZON, bestsellers in travel.
KYLE-ANNE SHIVER: Talking to Voters About Herman Cain.
A COSMETICS BLOG: It’s A Beautiful World.
THINGS THAT CAN GET YOU ARRESTED IN D.C.: “Photographer Violations.” What are those?
Somebody should send ’em a copy of Morgan Manning’s article.
SEE, OBAMA WAS RIGHT ABOUT THOSE A.T.M. MACHINES! More Jobs Predicted for Machines, Not People. “A faltering economy explains much of the job shortage in America, but advancing technology has sharply magnified the effect, more so than is generally understood, according to two researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.”
LEGAL EDUCATION UPDATE: NY Times: Are Law Schools and Bar Exams Necessary?
FRANK J. FLEMING EXPLAINS: Why we must get rid of the 1%. “Here’s the thing: They’re the 1 percent, but we’re the 99 percent. Their wealth may be much more than ours, but 99 is a much bigger number than one. So we should just gang up and take their money.”
CHEVY CRUZE NOT LOOKING SO GOOD: “The new Consumer Reports reliability ratings are out, and the much-hyped Chevy Cruze rates … “significantly below average,” according to the Detroit Freep. Yikes. . . . It’s pretty hard to imagine worse news for Obama’s ‘New GM,’ short of a Jaguar-style safety scandal. . . . Obama should have been more skeptical about “New GM’s” ability to turn itself around with its same old workforce and same old union, just as he should have been skeptical of the ability of the Departments of Energy and Labor to produce ‘green jobs.’ Maybe he was skeptical about GM but saw no alternative. There’s no similar excuse for the MSM joining in the cheerleading.”
Bright side: “The controversial Chevy Volt hybrid, which isn’t selling, seems to be quite reliable.”
HOW TO DEAL WITH soaring retirement health-care costs.
CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS: What To Watch For In Today’s Private Space Showdown.
I DON’T REMEMBER THIS KIND OF THING WITH THE TEA PARTY: Rioting in Downtown Oakland as Occupiers Clash with Police. Photos and video at the link.
POLITICAL WIRE: Obama Losing His Base.
UPDATE: Rasmussen: Even Jon Huntsman is Within Striking Distance of Obama. “So, second look at Jon Huntsman? Not really. The fact that a GOP candidate at 1% against his rivals is with 7 of the sitting president doesn’t say anything meaningful about Huntsman’s candidacy, but it says a whole lot about Obama’s. It says that James Carville is right to be very worried.”
SHOCKER: Yoga Eases Back Pain.
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: President Obama Holds Secret Meet-and-Greet With Hollywood Execs and Influencers. “Among those attending the morning gathering at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel were studio head Harvey Weinstein, UTA’s Rob Prinz, CAA managing partner and music head Rob Light, and ICM’s Chris Silbermann.”
JAMES PETHOKOUKIS: The revenue and GDP impact of the Perry flat tax plan — now with actual numbers! “Under static scoring — assuming no growth impact from a more efficient, pro-investment tax code — the Perry Tax Plan (call it PTP-SS) would raise $4.7 trillion less than the Congressional Budget Office baseline forecast from 2014-2020. Of course, that forecast assumes all the Bush tax cuts expire, which is highly unlikely. Yet even under that scenario, revenue-to-GDP would be back to its historical average of around 18 percent of GDP by 2019.”