Things I've Never Seen

Sometimes stuff just pops into my head. Today I was thinking that I have never, and I mean never, seen a hot woman getting on a bus.

BMW M3

I've pretty much wanted an M3 ever since someone explained to me what an M3 was. If the wife shoots down the Tesla, the ZR1, and the GTR, this is my backup.

Halloween

Time to break out my Popeye Jones mask. Or Gheorghe Muresan.

Financial Sector vs. Non-Financial

There really has been far too little conversation about this topic.

Flashback

The Park Slope Hat Spat. Such a great read.

Lying Liar Lies

Disgusting. It's a lie. Everyone knows she lied and is a lying liar. Some of the quotes are choice, such as:
"I don't mind, I guess, being sort of a sacrifice to help others as long as I can share my experience in a positive way." Yes, dragging people's names through the mud with a vicious lie is quite a sacrifice and it is definitely an experience to be shared with others.

"God has given me the grace and the courage to stand up. ... I'm a real person. I have feelings. I'm not just an ex-dancer. I'm not just someone who tried to frame someone who is innocent of sexual assault. My only intentions were for justice, and I wanted justice for myself." No he didn't. Yes you are. No they weren't and no you didn't.

"I have no comments about the details of the case," she said, adding later, "There's no point in going into that, because the trial will never happen. So what's the point? I just don't see the point." I think the point is that you're writing a book slandering people after your story has been completely discredited.

Hopefully, she'll be sued and never see a dime.

Sweet

John Daly returns. Keywords: Drunk, Hooters, police.

Yeah, he is.

I'm not sure why people get so upset by allegations that Obama is a socialist. I mean, he is. Not a pure one, but very similar to the social democrats that run throughout Europe. I guess that label carries a different connotation in the US.

Yes, 638HP

ZR1. 638hp, 200 mph.

Slime mold

Pictures. Pretty cool.

Don't Like Inequality?

Just shrink the whole pie.

Yale Open Courses

This is kind of cool. I mean, it's not Harvard or anything, but still.

Is the war over?

That's what it says here.

Sen. Stevens

Good riddance.

California- Prop 2

From the NY Times magazine a profile of the Human Society's top guy and a discussion of Prop 2. This is a very difficult issue for me. I love my animals and I very much agree with the idea that humans should avoid cruelty to animals when possible. However, when I hear members of the animal roghts crowd talking about first steps to regulating what humans can eat, the open admission in the article that this initiative is crafted around PR rather than policy, and lefty bloggers talking about the next steps such as regulating meat through climate change initiatives, it definitely gives me pause. On the merits of Prop 2 itself, I'd probably be voting yes.

Coverage of Afghanistan (and Pakistan)

Michael Yon is a former member of the Special Forces who is now an embedded reporter/blogger covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. IMHO, he consistently provides the best coverage on both the details on the ground and the thousands of little cultural issues that are rarely covered in coverage but are immeasurably important.

Nissan GTR

Nissan GTR. One of my backups if the wife won't let me get the Tesla. 480 horses, 0-60 in 3.5 seconds. Sick.

Health Care Costs

If you want to be more knowledgeable about health care than 99.5% of the US population, read this. Paul Ginsburg is one of the better health care policy experts in the country. This is, in part, because he has an affinity for facts and data.

There are a number of studies and rankings that identify the US as having a sub-par health care system. We spend more than any other country, by a wide margin, and still have millions of uninsured and worse outcomes. Some of the measures are misleading. Life expectancy for one is skewed in the United States due to higher murder rates and traffic accidents. No that those are not problems, but they really don't allow for any conclusions about our health care system. Further, a number of the studies that rank the the US health care system poorly do so because they consider how accessible the system is to everyone. Again, it may be an important issue, but it doesn't necessarily tell you anything about the relative quality or value of the health care system.

That said, the US heath care system has major issues. As the Ginsburg report notes, cost is a major one. Really, it's the major one. We consume massive amounts of care that are unnecessary. We devalue primary care and promote high cost interventions. We reimburse providers based on the volume of care they provide with zero regard to quality or need. We fund drug research for the rest of the world. Most of the "reform" efforts being discussed deal primarily with access. That is an important issue. It pales, however, in comparison to the issue of cost because the cost is not sustainable. Health care now consumes slightly better than 16% of GDP and my guess is that it will hit 20% at some point. If you want to know why wages are stagnant, you don't have to look too much further. Pay increases are granted in the form of health benefits every year and, based on the growth of premiums, wages have been increasing substantially. But nobody wants that kind of pay increase. I'll post more about this later. The takeaway is that any politician or reformist or advocate who isn't talking about cost isn't talking about what matters.

Media Bias

When Republicans complain about the media being biased I usually think "duh." Of course they are. This election cycle has produced a whole new level though. It's actually kind of amusing at times, until you realize that a free press that delivers accurate news and analysis is actually kind of an important thing. Well, at least on of their own has realized it to. Here.

On the Way to My House

The Myth of the Rational Voter by Bryan Caplan.

Giant Spider Eating a Bird

Yikes.

Our Incompetent DA

Well done sir. What a f-ing joke. 6+ years of pursuing a non-crime, losing every step of the way, and finally ending it all with a misdemeanor and a $10,000 fine. Although, to be fair, this was never about getting a conviction. As they say, you can beat the rap but you can't beat the ride.

Non-Idiotic Thought From Alec Baldwin

Rare. By the way, I actually like Alec Baldwin as an actor. He might be smart too, it just never sounds like it when he talks about politics because he's foaming at the mouth.

Let's Play Which Party?

This is pretty much par for the course these days. Gee, I wonder which party he's a member of. The article doesn't say, go figure.

Josh Childress

This is a pretty cool article. I've always been a fan of Childress. He's smart, good ballplayer, and he's opened some doors for other athletes (particularly black ones) who would not have considered Europe prior to his decision. It's also easy to understand why other countries are catching up to us in basketball.

The War Nerd

I love this guy. I can waste hours reading him.

And another one comes to light

What do you say to people like Arthur Johnson? If you don't have serious doubts about the criminal justice system by now, I don't know what to say. Yes, we get a lot of them right, but taking a utilitarian approach to criminal justice is morally bankrupt. The phenomenon that amazes me is how many of the DAs involved refuse to concede someone's innocence in the face of overwhelming evidence. I just don't understand that. I don't understand how you could know someone was innocent and let it happen. The other phenomenon that amazes me is how little bitterness many of those freed show. I spent a night in jail in college and I'm still planning revenge at some point. How can you do 16 years and not hate everyone?

What a really good law

This is retarded.

Power Breakfast

1 whole wheat english muffin
organic peanut butter
2 slices of canadian bacon
2 slices of apple

Peanut butter goes on english muffin, apple goes on top of peanut butter, canadian bacon goes on top of apple. Voila, 20+ grams of protein and it tastes great.

Tesla Roadster

I've been trying to convince my wife that with the market the way it is the smart investment is cars. And this one in particular.

Bacteria sized robots for surgery

Crazy

The Lister Blister

Shawn Kemp's top ten dunks ever. #1, often referred to as the Lister Blister, is one of the nastiest dunks ever. It is a pity that he will primarily be remembered as a fat slob and father to 3000000000000 illegitimate kids rather than the most athletic power forward ever.

Blazers

Since the Bucks suck, I decided to adopt another NBA team until they rise to prominence again. And since the Blazers took LaMarcus and Brandon Roy, both of whom I loved in college, and got rid of the criminal element, they seem like a good, fun choice. Plus, check out this roster.

Blazers

They Don't Give a F$#&

Ben Smith gets an email from a Republican consultant. I work in politics so many of the conversations I have with folks are with people who are either ideologues, idiots, or extremely jaded and view the whole thing as a big game. (I should also note there are a lot of really smart people I work with as well). But I always take what they say about the mood of the electorate with a grain of salt. I listen very carefully to what my non-political friends say about politics and it's similar to what the Republican consultant is saying. Total disgust.

The Irrational Electorate

Good read.

Or even just ridiculed

Flight of the Conchords

Oh my goodness

Bill Walker

List o' the Day

Sweet

Sadly, yes.

Christopher Buckley.

"While I regret this development, I am not in mourning, for I no longer have any clear idea what, exactly, the modern conservative movement stands for. Eight years of “conservative” government has brought us a doubled national debt, ruinous expansion of entitlement programs, bridges to nowhere, poster boy Jack Abramoff and an ill-premised, ill-waged war conducted by politicians of breathtaking arrogance. As a sideshow, it brought us a truly obscene attempt at federal intervention in the Terry Schiavo case."

Treasury Plan B (or whatever we're on)

Felix Salmon. Besides having an awesome name, this guy does about as good a job writing about the current financial situation as anyone out there.

ZR1

Awesome.
Unfortunately, balding old guys who hang out with strippers and have cigarette speed boats have ruined the reputation of one of the finest automobiles ever made.

Assume the position

Megan McCardle
Makes the point. The latest meme is that the entire financial crisis was caused by deregulation. Asking any follow up question of those who claim this will result in stuttering and delay as they sprint back to their computer to head to Wikipedia. Certainly regulation of financial markets is important. In fact, free markets and capitalism rely on precise rules. But I think her point is accurate. Many of those screaming for additional regulation really don't give a shit about the health of the financial system.

My new blog

Like a million people I've decided to start a blog. I'm not sure why. I think it is because I'm slightly anti-social (in a non-dangerous way) and this is a good medium for actually discussing issues I like and care about. Some folks suggested I would be good at it. We'll see.

Blog's namesake is Tamerlane. If you don't know who he is, do yourself a favor and read about him. He's a badass.

About me. I work in public affairs...I'm a lobbyist. I lobby for health insurance companies and I love it. Feel free to sling a few arrows if that offends you. I don't offend easily. I'm married to a beautiful, wonderful woman. I've got no kids (otherwise I would not have a blog). I like to use parentheses a lot (like Ted L. Nancy). I'll post about politics, economics, finance, cars (I consider them art), poker, sports, wine, cooking, food, music, travel (we travel a lot), military history, things I find absurd, gloablization, foreign affairs, MMA, and other random stuff. I swear like a sailor. I'm good at Guitar Hero. I can beat anyone in the world at Tecmo Super Bowl. I know Pi to 100 decimals. I have nine brothers and sisters. I'm a voracious reader.