Because it deserves repeating, and because it is so remarkable consistent with my experiences with TSA’s invasiveness, insensibility, and grandstanding, the column by The Atlantic‘s Jeffrey Goldberg was both sad and amusing (h/t Gruber @ DF). The comments by Marco Arment’s (of Instapaper fame) captured the public’s likely response: So, to summarize: With no supporting [...]
I’m fascinated by data visualization. Expressing complex ideas in a simple way is immensely powerful. In my post yesterday, I linked to a county-by-county time lapse of unemployment rates. I’ve found some interesting images (complete with a thorough explanation) examining the U.S. economy. The article is interesting, but the images, if you’ll pardon the cliché, [...]
Daring Fireball pointed to this county-by-county time lapse of unemployment rates. Fascinating. It explains some of the differences I’ve observed in the move from Utah to Georgia. A few things to notice: Because each frame is a 12-month running average, the map doesn’t show whether some counties have started to pull out of high unemployment. [...]
I caught on TV tonight an education policy presentation by Julian Betts, Chair of the Department of Economics. Originally presented in April of this year, Dr. Betts discusses peer-reviewed research on testing, accountability systems, charter schools, vouchers, and merit pay systems. No matter where you fall on these issues, I think it’s worth watching.
Go here first. Then come back. I’ll wait. The trouble with talking about government budgets, even ones as small as a city or local school district, is that big numbers rapidly lose meaning to people. It’s more visceral to talk about a dozen people (or dollars or “things”) than to discuss a million of then. [...]
Via Gruber, who posts following a TechDirt article. A federal judge denies an individual of property (contents of an email account) without notification, with no opportunity for appeal (the person is not a party to the matter), and with no cause to suspect wrongdoing. Saith Gruber, who dubs U.S. District Court Judge James Ware “Jackass [...]
Nearly two months ago (has it really been that long?) Jeremy posed a thoughtful question following a post on campaign finance. What do you make of arguments which state that disclosure is enough and that caps aren’t needed? If voters know immediately where candidates are getting their funding they can usually pretty well decide whether [...]
(Apologies for the language.) FYI: a $24 B bailout spread across 218 M adults (2003) is about $110 per person, not including the cost of paying back interest on the change in national debt. If someone knows the original source of this, please let me know so I can give proper credit.
Via daringfireball.net: Philip Greenspun: ‘Let G.M. Go Bankrupt’ America seems to have an irrational soft spot for its auto industry. It’s a shame that these once-great companies have fallen so far, but the simple truth is that Ford and G.M. make ugly, inefficient cars that few people want to buy.John Gruber, daringfireball.net, 8 Nov 2008
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