Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Jack Abramoff: Of course campaign contributions are bribes | MinnPost
Jack Abramoff: Of course campaign contributions are bribes | MinnPost: 
An interesting take: society cultivates a sense of indebtedness and gratitude so that we act civilly toward one another. It means that campaign contributions are inevitably asking for something in return.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Goddamit, NYT, do your job
In a story about Republican plans to extend (again) tax cuts for the super rich, the NYTimes lets the #3 House Republican say this in print:
“The president said if you pass the stimulus, unemployment would never go above 8 percent,” said Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the No. 3 House Republican. “We’ve had a 41-month experience that that is not true and hasn’t been effective. One thing Republicans have always said is that they want a form of accountability.”
But if they had just Googled that first sentence (without quotes), they would have found this Politifact coverage of that statement, ruling it MOSTLY FALSE.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
The long struggle: vaccines versus malaria | Ars Technica
The long struggle: vaccines versus malaria | Ars Technica: 
A good lesson that not all scientific goals can be achieved with a “moon shot”
Recyclers disagree on impact of glued-in Retina MacBook Pro batteries | Ars Technica
Recyclers disagree on impact of glued-in Retina MacBook Pro batteries | Ars Technica: 
This is really interesting article on the philosophy of eco-design versus consumerism. On the one hand, Apple’s devices are harder to separate into their component parts, but on the other hand, they have higher-quality materials (like metal) and their users keep them longer.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
"The Glaxo case is the latest and biggest in a series of Justice Department prosecutions of Big..."
“The Glaxo case is the latest and biggest in a series of Justice Department prosecutions of Big Pharma for illegal marketing prescription drugs. … The Department says the prosecutions are well worth the effort. By one estimate it’s recovered more than $15 for every $1 it’s spent. But what’s the point if the fines are small relative to the profits, if the wrong people are feeling the financial pinch, and if no executive is held accountable? The only way to get big companies like these to change their behavior is to make the individuals responsible feel the heat. An even more basic issue is why the advertising and marketing of prescription drugs is allowed at all, when consumers can’t buy them and shouldn’t be influencing doctor’s decisions anyway. Before 1997, the Food and Drug Administration banned such advertising on TV and radio. That ban should be resurrected. Finally, there’s no good reason why doctors should be allowed to accept any perks at all from [drug] companies… It’s an inherent conflict of interest. Codes of ethics that are supposed to limit such gifts obviously don’t work. All perks should be banned, and doctors that accept them should be subject to potential loss of their license to practice.”
- Economist’s View: Bigger is Not Always Better
- Economist’s View: Bigger is Not Always Better
Monday, July 16, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
"the process of polarization is not symmetrical. The parties have not become equally ideologically..."
“the process of polarization is not symmetrical. The parties have not become equally ideologically homogenous or moved equally far toward their extremes. They do not behave in the same way or share the same attitude toward established social and political norms. Republicans have moved farther right than Democrats have left.”
- The left’s gone left but the right’s gone nuts: Asymmetrical polarization in action | Grist
- The left’s gone left but the right’s gone nuts: Asymmetrical polarization in action | Grist
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Sunday, July 01, 2012
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