Trying to make sense of things by looking at causes and understanding their effects. Using science to discern what's real and relationships to determine what's of value. Curious about everything.
Is the state of Florida turning blue? And, I’m not talking about it holding its breath. Talking about politics, of course.
It might just be… younger voters are more likely to vote Democratic. Democrats are making gains within the Hispanic vote. And Democrats are gaining in large, urban counties.
On the other hand, small changes can be misleading. First, because of purging inactive voters from the roles. And, this other rather nasty strategy:
Registration figures can also be questionable because of Florida’s closed primaries, in which only voters registered in a party can participate. Voters often register in a party they don’t agree with, simply to be able to vote in the primary.
That has long been the case in North Florida, for example, where Democrats dominate in registered voters, but almost never win statewide or presidential elections.
Why do I have this impression that Republicans just know how to play dirty better than Democrats?
Oh man. I have been jokingly thanking residents from other states for financing the Big Dig. Jokingly, because while I can now get to the airport from work in about 20 minutes (used to take 45 minutes to an hour), it did concern me that ceiling pieces were tumbling because of misapplied epoxy, and the tunnels were leaking because cement wasn’t used properly. The costs of finding the errors, assessing the damage, and fixing them had to be astronomical, and the feds weren’t going to pay the bill.
Well, an accounting of the costs has finally been made - thanks to the Boston Globe. And WOW. WOW. WOW.
…the project will cost an additional $7 billion in interest, bringing the total to a staggering $22 billion, according to a Globe review of hundreds of pages of state documents. It will not be paid off until 2038.
and…
Contrary to the popular belief that this was a project heavily subsidized by the federal government, 73 percent of construction costs were paid by Massachusetts drivers and taxpayers.
…Big Dig payments have already sucked maintenance and repair money away from deteriorating roads and bridges across the state, forcing the state to float more highway bonds and to go even deeper into the hole.
Among other signs of financial trouble: The state is paying almost 80 percent of its highway workers with borrowed money; the crushing costs of debt have pushed the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which manages the Big Dig, to the brink of insolvency; and Massachusetts spends a higher percentage of its highway budget on debt than any other state.
It goes on and on. And the worst part is that the whole point of the Big Dig is to make it easier for people to drive cars. Why didn’t we put the money into public transportation? Look for ways to get off of foreign oil?
I actually met someone from Parsons Brinkerhoff, the company who designed the damn thing, at a conference this past week. I said I was from Boston, and he immediately blamed the whole thing on corrupt Boston officials.
Fingerpointing. Blame. Cost overruns. Taxes.
At least I can get to the airport in 20 minutes. As long as I don’t get crushed by something falling from the ceiling or drown in the leaky tunnels.
Why is Dick Morris writing in www.thehill.com that the Presidential race is tied? And Mark Mellman is writing in the same issue that Obama’s lead is ‘wrongly minimized’?
Yup, it’s true. For those (like Jeff Jacoby) who are in a dither about falling fertility rates in rich countries, it comes as a shock to find out that the rich countries (that includes us) where women have the highest participation in the workforce also have the highest fertility rates.
Interestingly, the countries with the most extensive social programs AND where men participate the most in child-rearing, like the Netherlands and Scandinavia, have the highest fertility rates, and the countries with fewer social programs and with traditional view of gender roles, like Italy, have the lowest rates. (Translation: men don’t do the boring work that comes with kids in Italy).
Well, I think they made a lot of interesting and important points in this article, so check it out. However, they did not mention what is perhaps the most important point, which I wrote about here:
To paraphrase: men doing housework is an aphrodisiac.
Perhaps I should spell it out… women find men doing housework more attractive which results in more babies.
So, the whole conservative mantra about women staying home to take care of kids is not only just plain wrong… They also aren’t having as much fun.
OK, I loved both columns. But, it’s just a little scary when both Maureen Dowd and Ben Stein are talking about love. And both articles are on the New York Times’ top ten most emailed list.
Maureen writes about a priest’s description of An Ideal Husband, advice he gives to young women:
Never marry a man who has no friends. This usually means he’s incapable of the intimacy that marriage demands. (my comment - be sure to check and make sure he’s not just shy).
What do your friends and family think of him?
Does he use money responsibly? Is he stingy?
Steer clear of someone whose life you can run, i.e. no doormats
Is he overly attached to his mother?
Does he have a sense of humor?
Is he the ’strong/silent’ type? (run away)
Are bad family habits? Racism, sexism, prejudice?
Do you share the same deepest values?
Does he possess the character traits that add up to being a good person? Is he wiling to forgive, praise, be courteous? or is he inclined to be a fibber, to fits of rage, to be a control freak, to be envious, to be secretive?
Then, Ben Stein:
My primary life study has been about love. Second comes economics, so here, in the form of a few rules, is a little amalgam of the two fields: the economics of love…
In general, and with rare exceptions, the returns in love situations are roughly proportional to the amount of time and devotion invested. The amount of love you get from an investment in love is correlated, if only roughly, to the amount of yourself you invest in the relationship.
If you invest caring, patience and unselfishness, you get those things back.
Are you kidding me? Ben Stein? He goes on:
With people and bonds - stick with high quality
Do your research
If you have to compete with others, even after a short while, forget the whole thing
Returns should equal investment
Love is a long-term investment - day traders will have many days of love but years of agony
Realistic expectations are everything
Stick with a winner
Have dogs and cats in your life
And he closes with this:
And let me close with another thought. I am far from glib about the economy. It has a lot of pitfalls facing it. As workers and investors, we know that many dangers lurk in our paths.
But so far, these things have always worked themselves out and this one will, too. In the meantime, they say that falling in love is wonderful, and that the best is falling in love with what you have.
So there you go. The economy is so bad, that pundits and economists are writing about love. Who said it? Love is all you need?
Think Obama’s been too hard on black folks? Think Jesse’s remarks represent what most people think? Well, this caught my eye:
But Al Sharpton, a New York civil rights activist, said Obama has been giving the right message, especially in his Father’s Day speech.
“It was a courageous, necessary statement,” Sharpton said. “I think people misunderstand. I disagree that he’s talking down to black people. The civil rights movement of the 21st century must be government accountability and personal responsibility.”
Government accountability and personal responsibility. Who can argue with that?
It’s so GREAT not to be a Republican this year, when you’ve got Republican luminaries like Phil Gram saying the US is suffering from a ‘mental recession’.
And, it’s great to NOT be John McCain; having to distance himself:
Gramm “does not speak for me. I speak for me. I strongly disagree,” McCain said during a press availability here, which took place at the same time Gramm was wrapping up a discussion with the Wall Street Journal editorial board about the candidate’s economic program.
Can’t wait to see who the Wall Street Journal editorial board agrees with on this one!
…says a 78-year old Albanian woman who made an oath of celibacy in return for the right to live and rule her family as a man.
“Back then, it was better to be a man because, before, a woman and an animal were considered the same thing,” says Keqi, who has a bellowing baritone voice, sits with her legs open wide like a man and relishes downing shots of Raki and smoking cigarettes. “Now, Albanian women have equal rights with men and are even more powerful, and I think today it would be fun to be a woman.”
She says:
“I was totally free as a man because no one knew I was a woman,” Keqi said. “I could go wherever I wanted to and no one would dare swear at me because I could beat them up. I was only with men. I don’t know how to do women’s talk. I am never scared.”
Well, I do think that it would serve women well to know how to defend ourselves. And, I’m not so sure about the ‘never scared’ part. But you know, she’s right. It is fun to be a woman. And it’s great to be alive in these times.
I love it. This is the best campaign advice I’ve seen - Tony Horwitz says Obama should take up smoking to win over the Clinton blue-collar voters, citing these stats:
Americans who make between $24,000 and $36,000 a year smoke at twice the rate of those earning $90,000 or more. The same applies to Americans with a high school education rather than a college degree. Rural Americans smoke more than city dwellers. As for race, there’s a close correlation between states with high rates of white smokers and those where Mr. Obama polled worst in the primaries. Leading the pack of smoking states are Kentucky and West Virginia; industrial states like Ohio aren’t far behind.
Horwitz goes on to say that this will help Obama shed the kind of ‘perfectly-groomed’ metro-sexual image he has, it will help with Michelle Obama’s image, who will suddenly become another woman coping with a slightly naughty husband, and it will give him something in common with a beleaguered lot - the American smoker. The vice is still legal, but barely.
It doesn’t surprise me that poor people smoke so much - as a former smoker, and former poor, white American with rural roots and of the first generation to go to college - it’s one of those little vices that you can afford.
I have long called cigarettes the poor man’s anti-depressant. When did I smoke? When I was tired, when I was stressed, when I was hungry, and when I was bored. I have many family members who still smoke, and combine cigarettes with soft drinks - a day-long speedball of nicotine, caffeine, and sugar. Most are over-weight. Most have significant life stresses - financial difficulties, challenging family situations, medical problems. Most would benefit tremendously from prescription anti-depressants and talk therapy, but don’t have the means to pay for it.
Obama is one of us - he grew up as a poor white with all of our stresses and vices. Granted, his mixed ethnicity and short stays in Hawaii and Indonesia gave him some different experiences. But he’s from Kansas and Illinois. His mother is Polish-American. And he’s an (ex)smoker.
