russell

by russell Here is a draft version of the Trump administration's initial infrastructure priorities.  Somewhat to my surprise, they all seem pretty good, to me.  They all seem like… useful, needed infrastructure. Many of the concerns that have been raised about the funding mechanisms, and what the ownership status of the projects will be once completed.  I.e., … Read more

by russell Twice in the last 20 years, a highly contentious election season has yielded a POTUS who lost the popular vote.  Most recently, lost by a lot.   The argument is made that the system we use – the electoral college – was created as a compromise between the interests of states with larger … Read more

by russell From the Boston Globe, the brothers are arming up.  Why?  Because they perceive that they are increased risk of being harmed or killed. Who wouldn't, right? Unfortunately, it seems that a black person with a gun is that much more likely to be a former black person with a gun. Centripetal force; not a … Read more

by russell McK has, in a couple of different posts, offered the idea that Syrian Muslims might not be good candidates for immigration to the US.  Their religion and culture, the idea is, are too different from ours to allow them to assimilate. I find this questionable, because our history is full to the brim … Read more

by russell leonard cohen, then leon russell… and now mose allison? all since election day?  are these guys trying to tell us it's time to get off the freaking planet? I'm gonna miss Mose, he was the hippest of the hip.  Not in a "you'll never be as hip as me, so don't even try" … Read more

by russell I'm trying to get my head around the transition to a Trump presidency. Apparently he doesn't want to live full time at the White House.  How is that going to work out?  Isn't the POTUS sort of expected to be available 24/7 if needed?  NYC is not that far from DC, but it … Read more

by russell the mystery is revealed.  here ya go. McConnell's response is interesting. we're off and running.  buckle up, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

by russell actually, it's a research project on US economic competitiveness at Harvard. what they say is: the biggest impediment to US economic growth and vitality is government dysfunction. an interesting piece.

by russell A couple of things I stumbled on in my daily random walk through the internet seemed relevant to topics under discussion here. So, for your reading pleasure: Michael Goldfarb tries to unpack the Trump phenomenon to readers of the BBC magazine.  Bonus points if you are a Springsteen fan, which I'm not in any … Read more

by russell Linked-In sent me this thought-provoking (to me, at least) piece. "Just learn to code" has been the modern-ish equivalent of "one word – plastics" for a little while now.  Find yourself on the downside of the new economy?  Get some technical skills together and Bob's your uncle! Except those are increasingly being (a) outsourced or … Read more

by russell As most folks probably know, I write code for a living.  I build software.  It's a funny industry, by which I don't mean funny-ha-ha, and is prone to strange enthusiasms.  It can be a little volatile. I currently work for a company that's been around for a while – probably about 12 years, … Read more

by russell This popped up on Facebook today.  I thought it was really good, and worth sharing here.  So, here ya go! America : the dysfunctional family that you never really recognize for what it is until you get some distance.  IMO, a quite useful analogy. Hope all of you being visited by Jonas the Bumble … Read more

by russell The occupation of a wildlife park building by self-appointed patriots in Burns OR raises a lot of questions for me.  Not about the folks involved, IMO they're a crew of buffoons – the 'patriotic' version of Moe, Larry, and Curly - and the less attention given them the better. The questions I have are about … Read more

by russell For the long holiday weekend, I offer a post that (one hopes) is devoid of rancorous partisan political content. For a long time, I've been interested in (and made a sort of semi-desultory study of) the way in which certain elements of African music have found their way to, and found expression in, … Read more

by russell The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for last night's attacks in Paris.  If they are responsible, that apparently represents an upping of the ante on their part, in terms both of the ambition of the attack and the effectiveness of its execution. The IS is kind of a strange beast.  They don't appear … Read more

by russell A few weeks ago, a guy named Scott Waters published this account of his time in the UK. More recently, Paul Owen published this reply in the Guardian UK. I draw no earth-shattering conclusions from the comparisons, I just thought they were both interesting and candid pieces.  Chances are many or even most … Read more

by russell As some folks may be aware, Massachusetts is battling rising levels of opioid abuse.  Heroin, but also prescription meds like oxycontin.  Something like 1,000 people died from opioid overdoses in MA last year. One of the harder hit towns is Gloucester, up there on the tip of Cape Ann.  Gloucester traditionally has been … Read more

by russell by popular demand, this is your beatles open thread. i will kick if off by talking a little bit about the scorcese bio-pic about george harrison, which i watched not quite two years ago to kill the time while visiting my in-laws. harrison was, indeed, the dark horse of the beatles.  ambitious, but … Read more

by russell This year's SAT scores are the lowest in 10 years.  What's up with the kids?  What's up with the schools?  What happened to school reform? Are the SAT's even relevant?  Do they test anything useful?  Does the decline and/or stagnation of the scores tell us that we're becoming more ignorant, or are they … Read more

by russell saw this on NPR initially, now it's at Field and Stream of all places. I'm actually really curious to see how this shakes out, legally. For the record, I don't really have a problem with people blasting camera-bearing drones out of the sky if they are hovering over their property.  A 2nd Amendment solution to … Read more

by russell This post is about the shootings in Charleston.  It's a topic about which people are going to have strong feelings, in a wide variety of directions, so I would like to ask a couple of favors. Please don't direct ad hominem comments toward other folks here on the blog. Please don't call for … Read more

by russell Among the things for which I regularly give thanks is the Gloucester Clam, a humorous and irreverent online rag, published just up the coast by our friends across the bridge. Today's slightly NSFW offering brings the musings of Ken M, king of the comment section trolls. It made me laugh until green tea … Read more

by russell The "this" in the headline is "guns". The back home in Indiana thread petered out into (somehow, once again) a discussion of guns.  The topic is obviously of interest to a lot of people, and equally obviously seems to be one of the hardest things to talk about. I thought I would try … Read more

by russell for some reason, I recently found myself looking into the famous Margaret Thatcher quote.  You know the one: There is no such thing as society. It's a sort of counter-intuitive, and maybe disturbing, thing for the Prime Minister of a major nation to come out with.  So, I wanted to understand what she … Read more

by russell In another thread, bobbyp linked to the Wiki page for the Shelby County v Holder case. The whole voting rights act brouhaha suggests, to me, a good candidate for a 28th Amendment: No citizen of the United States of America being 18 years or older in age shall be deprived of the right to vote … Read more

by russell A week or so ago, I went to my niece's son's 4th birthday party.  He's a great kid, anything he thinks or feels immediately translates into enthusiastic chatter and facial expressions and some kind of 4-year-old interpretive gymnastics. I think the term of art is "expressive". When I go to my niece's, I … Read more

by russell I'm not sure what to even say about this.  Yes, there's a lot of money looking for a productive home.  Yes, interest rates are so low that lower risk investments just don't pay much.  What to do?  I know – securitize high-interest used car loans to high-risk borrowers. Didn't we just go through … Read more

by russell good idea? bad idea? nothingburger? don't know what i think about it yet, just putting it out there for y'all to discuss. have at it.

by russell In Iraq, that is. A Sunni militia has taken a very large chunk of northern Iraq, and is currently (as in now) approaching Baghdad.  The Iraqi army apparently ran away. The Sunnis appear to want to establish an Islamic state, and appear to be aligned with similar militias in Syria.  This makes nobody … Read more

by russell Eric Cantor lost his primary to economics professor David Brat.  Cantor spent about $5M, Brat about $200K. What does this mean (if anything)? Is it a demonstration of the ongoing vitality of the Tea Party movement? Proof that money doesn't always prevail, even in Washington DC? Evidence that people around Richmond VA really, … Read more

by russell and hopefully not a dollar short.  this is a belated memorial day post. The folks i remember: My father, who was in for the duration (like everybody else) in WWII, and saw his war from an engine room as a USN machinist's mate.  Hot, sweaty, noisy, crap duty, a weird gig for a … Read more

by russell TNC is Ta-Nehisi Coates, he writes for the Atlantic.  He mostly writes about issues around race, which is a topic of interest to me.  He is, consistently, a thoughtful and measured writer, and he does his homework. What's not to like? He has a long piece up now which I'm making my way … Read more

<i>by russell</i> the issue of prisons in the US came up in another thread.  it was discussed briefly, and I thought it might deserve a more thorough discussion. so, here it is. what strikes me about the prison system in the US: the sheer number of people in the system.  somewhere between 2.2 and 2.4 … Read more

by russell ok, so the house passed the farm bill, and finessed the food stamp funding issue by leaving it out.  which is to say, the food stamp program ceases to exist in the house bill. here is why that is, imo, asinine. no food stamps means that it will be glaringly obvious that there … Read more