Brent T. White, a University of Arizona law school professor, says that it’s in the homeowners’ best financial interest to stiff their lenders and that it’s not immoral to do so.
By Kenneth R. Harney
Archive for the ‘Culture’ Category
The Incoherence of the Health Care Debate
Posted in Culture, Health Care, Nation, Politics, Public, Steve S. on November 29, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Uwe Reinhardt has an interesting post up on the problems with our health care debate. Key quotes…..
MR. GREGORY: Senator Hutchison, you said this is the beginning of rationing.
SENATOR HUTCHISON: I think it is.
MR. GREGORY: Why did you say that?
SENATOR HUTCHISON: It’s because it’s whether the insurance and the public [...]
Remodeling and Housekeeping
Posted in Culture on November 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Homunculus Blaupunkt has thoughtfully pointed out to me that our method of welcoming new Authors to date has possibly been a bit cool and not entirely unlike that of the Romans welcoming Christians to the pit. While Alexandria is a city, not one’s mother’s lap, his point is nonetheless well taken.
From now on new Authors [...]
Deniers, Skeptics and ?
Posted in Culture, Ethics, Nation, Politics, Public, Steve S., Technology, tagged Deniers, Skeptics on November 28, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Co-Blogger DSL alerted me to a new book out by Michael Specter on Denialism. It is reviewed in the NYT Sunday Book Review by Sanghavi here. The review is pretty harsh with Specter coming off as an ex-believer in some pseudo-science who has swayed too far in the other direction. It did get me thinking, [...]
Lobbyists Losing Jobs Too
Posted in Commerce, Culture, Ethics, Nation, Politics, Public, Steve S., tagged expertise, government, Lobbyists on November 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Via Outside the Beltway, Dan Eggen at the Washington Post has nice article out on how lobbyists are losing jobs. Key quotes…..
Hundreds, if not thousands, of lobbyists are likely to be ejected from federal advisory panels as part of a little-noticed initiative by the Obama administration to curb K Street’s influence in [...]
I Put a Little More Mascara On
Posted in Arts, Culture, Lynn Gazis-Sax, Man, Sex on November 27, 2009 | 24 Comments »
Actually, I don’t. I haven’t worn mascara in decades. But it seems a suitable blog post title for my topic of the day, which is masculinity.
A Happy Thanksgiving to One and All
Posted in Culture on November 26, 2009 | 9 Comments »
Once again, Helper Monkeys Amanita, Arugula and Uvula have cornered, captured, and roasted a fine, plump specimen sadly bereft of Linneaen classification deep in the catacombs of Alexandria. This year, our good assistants having followed my admonishment to utilize instruments more selective than their miniguns, there will be even more than enough breast and drumsticks, [...]
A Twist on Posting
Posted in Culture on November 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Want a new idea for monetizing blog comments? Check out the Non Sequitur strip of November 25th.
Mexico, Anarchy and Vigilantes
Posted in Community, Culture, Nation, Politics, Public, Steve S., World on November 24, 2009 | 1 Comment »
George Grayson at The Foreign Policy Research Institute has an interesting piece up on the spread of vigilantism in Mexico. Key quotes……
Most kidnappings go unreported because citizens fear the authorities may be in league with the abductors. Still, the figures on murders speak for themselves. The number of drug-related deaths has increased in [...]
Census Worker Death Ruled Suicide. Mea Culpa’s Anyone?
Posted in Culture on November 24, 2009 | 8 Comments »
On Sept. 12, Bill Sparkman, a 51-year-old part-time Census field worker and teacher, was found hanging dead from a tree in Clay County, Kentucky. Some liberal bloggers, Southern Beale and Sean Braisted for example, were quick to accuse his death on right wing hate. SB headlined her post “Another Victim of Right Wing Hate?” [...]
Links: Of Squirrels, Deceit, Terrorists, and Orchids
Posted in Culture, Gods, Health Care, Lynn Gazis-Sax, Science on November 24, 2009 | 4 Comments »
Heroic Squirrel Saves It’s Baby From Dog.
The Economist on The conceit of deceit: How people make up good reasons for bad behaviour. (Via Neuroanthropology)
Bruce Schneier on How Smart are Islamic Terrorists?
Drima the Sudanese Thinker on Taqwacore – The Birth of Punk Islam.
Susan Russell on Suffragan Q&A Link for the upcoming Episcopal Church suffragan bishop election [...]
Metrics or Semantics?
Posted in Community, Culture, Nation, Politics, Public, Steve S., tagged Smaller government, understanding the conservative movement on November 23, 2009 | 5 Comments »
There has been an ongoing debate amongst the foreign policy crowd on how to determine if we are achieving success in Afghanistan. What metric should we use? Economic development, casualties, poppy sales? What is a valid way of measuring that is accurate, reliable and doable. In the economic world, Greenspan is reported to have [...]
The Afghan Perspective
Posted in Culture on November 23, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Oxfam, the British aid agency, took a poll and a series of interviews with the citizens of Afghanistan. Key quotes……
One respondent in Nangarhar, whose name was concealed in order to protect his identity, described the impact of the conflict on his fellow Afghans.”What do you think the effect that two million Afghans martyred, 70% of [...]
The Case Against the Drug Culture
Posted in Culture, Ethics, Lifestyle, Mind, Scott Lahti, tagged philosophy, MANAS, drug culture, Henry Anderson, humanism, KPFA on November 22, 2009 | 5 Comments »
Reprinted from MANAS*, November 16, 1966
*For more on this enchanted periodical, see “Free – the Resurgence 250, and MANAS he might be and could be“, Alexandria, and our review at Amazon.com of The Manas Reader.
[This article is adapted from a radio commentary by Henry Anderson, delivered over KPFA, Berkeley, June 17 and 18, 1966. Copyright, 1966, [...]
I get to be one of The Dallas Morning News “Voices”
Posted in Culture, Destiny on November 22, 2009 | 24 Comments »
kind of scary…
“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”
The Adman as Madman
Posted in Commerce, Culture, Humor, Lifestyle, Media, Scott Lahti, tagged advertising on November 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
You’ve come a long way, Babies, you’ll say to the pitchfolk of the world, in howling over sites which will change forever the way you think about all grocers’ and druggists’ standbys from Lysol to fresh pork:
Old Creepy Ads
”Sometimes it’s really scary what human mind can conceive for advertising.”
Vintage ads
”Hilarious, shocking and creepy advertisements from [...]
Another question on civility – liberals / conservatives or just individuals?
Posted in Culture on November 21, 2009 | 25 Comments »
The need for civility in our discourse has been raised of late by our new Author, Siarlys. I wonder if there is a general case to be made that Conservatives or Liberal are, on the whole, more civil in their discourse or if more outrageous individuals skew the curve.
Since, at Alexandria, we are blessed with [...]
What do medical rights cost, and who funds them?
Posted in Culture on November 21, 2009 | 5 Comments »
While trying to solve this puzzle–“The elderly vote. Because of this they have political power out of proportion to their numbers.”–that is, how any voting cohort could possibly have political power out of proportion to their numbers, a recent constellation of multiple posts each by our good Authors Destiny and Scott leads us elliptically but [...]
The Party of Fiscal Responsibility
Posted in Commerce, Community, Culture, Ethics, Health Care, Nation, Politics, Public, Steve S., tagged change, fiscal responsibility on November 20, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Bruce Bartlett, Reagan’s former adviser, continues to write good stuff on true fiscal responsibility. Key quotes….
Recall the situation in 2003. The Bush administration was already projecting the largest deficit in American history–$475 billion in fiscal year 2004, according to the July 2003 mid-session budget review. But a big election was [...]
Gay Pride, God, and Civil Discourse
Posted in Community, Culture, Ethics, Law, Nation, Politics, Siarlys Jenkins, tagged civility, conservatism, Family, marriage, religion, voting on November 20, 2009 | 10 Comments »
In the past year or so, there have been referenda in both Maine and California on whether to expand the civil-law definition of marriage. The proposed change would have provided for licensing of same-sex couples. Those disappointed by the outcome have raised loud and outraged voices. Of course we were already familiar with the loud [...]
American Values: The Antidote for Islamism?
Posted in Community, Culture, Ethics, Nation, Politics, Steve S., War, World on November 19, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Johann Hari has a great piece up that I hope everyone has seen by now in The Independent on ex-Islamists. Key quotes…..
To my surprise, the ex-jihadis said their rage about Western foreign policy – which was real, and burning – emerged only after their identity crises, and as a result of it. [...]
The Boob Exception
Posted in Community, Culture, Ethics, Health Care Proposals, Law, Media, Nation, Nature, Politics, Science, Sport, Steve S. on November 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The proposed Senate Health Reform bill will place a tax upon cosmetic surgery. If I am an accurate judge of the character of our Congress critters, I fully expect a boob job exception to be added before the final bill is passed.
What’s So Bad About Doing Good?
Posted in Culture, Ethics, Gods, Lifestyle, Self on November 18, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Or, for that matter, about feeling good? Or even doing good in order to feel good? These questions, of course, are directed at the authors and devotees of “Stuff White People Like.” Admittedly, I’ve only read bits and pieces of SWPL itself, mostly as quoted in other people’s blogs. But SWPL [...]
