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Monthly Archives: November 2013
My New Environmental Policy Blog
I’ve launched a new environmental policy blog, at http://enviropol.wordpress.com/. It’s primarily for my present and past Environmental Politics students, but open to anyone. The concept is to link to interesting and thought-provoking articles on environmental issues, from a variety of … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
2 Comments
Has the ACA Bent the Health Care Cost Curve?
White House advisor David Cutler says yes: In 2007, Obama asserted that his health-care reform plan would save $2,500 per family relative to the trends at the time… Yet events have shown him to be right. Between early 2009 and … Continue reading
Posted in Economical Musings
Tagged ACA, Health Care, Health Care Costs, Obamacare
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Writing on a Deadline?
This is old, from 2011, but I just now stumbled across it while looking up other stuff. It’s Krugman, blaming an increase in the price of gold on….Glenn Beck. Don’t take my word for it; read it yourself. Krugman quotes … Continue reading
The Nuclear Option, or Getting Burned By Your Own Scorched Earth Politics
As an Amerjcan Political Scientist who teaches American Government, I’m professionally and contractually obligated to both hold and express an opinion on the Senate Democrats’ actuon to eliminate filibustering of presidential nominees. That opinion is expressed most succinctly in this … Continue reading
Posted in Politics in General
5 Comments
I Need Validation
You commenters are an interesting bunch, and seem like pretty nice people for the most part (you exceptions know who you are!), but you don’t give me enough validation. Neither does WordPress, which for some reason hides all the really … Continue reading
Curiously Specific
I saw a television ad this morning that claimed “fixing America’s broken immigration system” will cause the economy to grow at 5.4% a year. I’m reminded of Paul Krugman’s old discussion of NAFTA’s likely effect on the economy–skewering both the … Continue reading
Posted in Economical Musings
Tagged GDP, Immigration Reform, NAFTA, Paul Krugman
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The Media Are Morons (as usual)
The local Tim Hortons is a convenient place to grade papers. But it runs FoxNews continuously, and sometimes I can’t help but overhear the inanities of its talking heads. This morning some vaguely pretty blonde told me that the Supreme … Continue reading
Posted in Laws, The Supremes
Tagged 5th Circuit, Abortion, Breyer, Scalia, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Texas Abortion Law
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What, Cops Can’t Do That?
A 16 year old Detroit girl was thrown to the ground and had her cell phone stolen by a thug. Fortunately for her, daddy is a cop. Unfortunately for him, he’s an asshole cop. Despite both being off-duty, he and … Continue reading
Posted in The Police State
2 Comments
TSA: Unclear on the Concept
The General Accounting Administration has criticized the TSA’s “Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques” (SPOT) program, designed to help catch terrorists by detecting suspicious behavior, as a waste of money that does nothing to enhance security. The GAO said TSA … Continue reading
The Bawdy House Provisions 