The weather has been less then winter-like, meaning warm temps and rain rather than snow. I'm not complaining as it's meant using very little firewood to keep The Manse warm.
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I watched a little college football yesterday and both of the teams I like – Boston College and Nebraska – lost against their opponents. Neither game was a blowout, but still I wish the outcomes had been different.**************
Stacy McCain quotes Friedrich Hayek, showing us that social justice is a mirage.The term social justice has no real concrete definition, meaning it can be used to justify all kinds of actions, up to and including things like the Holocaust. Social Justice Warriors use the elusive concept to justify the violation of our constitutional rights in order to cure some perceived wrong, not understanding (or worse, not caring) that the cure is far worse than perceived wrong. But then, they're totally into the feelings, not facts mindset.
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Eric the Viking is bugged by the latest Geico commercial, seeing as it shows a nasty fire code violation.I'm bugged by that same commercial because I have always found Salt-n-Pepa annoying.
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Self-proclaimed communist Mayor Bill deBlasio has managed to offend the very people he needs in order to maintain the peace in New York. Despite his conciliatory words after the deaths of two assassinated NYPD officers, his actions and words before hand generated a huge rift between Hizzoner and the NYPD. Is it any wonder a large number of police officers turned their backs upon the mayor at the funeral of one of the slain officers?There hasn't been this kind of division between the mayor's office and the NYPD since the bad old days of the 1970's, something de Blasio is working hard to do: return New York to the failed policies of the 70's.
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I watched the New England Patriots play their last regular season game against the Buffalo Bills in Foxborough. It seemed to me the Patriots were just going through the motions, with poor execution by both the offense and defense. It didn't help the Patriots that they have 15 players on the injured reserve list.The Patriots were down 17-6 in the first half. They pulled Brady as QB and let Jimmy Garappolo take snaps for the second half. Not that it did any good as the Patriots lost 17-9.
If the Patriots play like this in the playoffs they'll be out after their first game in two weeks.
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If anyone needs yet another example of how raising the minimum wage, particularly to unrealistic levels, will adversely affect local economics, then all one has to do is look to the city of Los Angeles.While LA's geography is different than most cities, many businesses there will feel the negative effects just like San Francisco and Seattle. But then that's the problem with Progressive economists as they assume businesses and customers will gladly pay the higher prices most businesses will have to change now that their labor costs have been artificially increased beyond all reason. A clue to these idiots: They won't.
(H/T Pirate's Cove)
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Here's yet another thing Sarah Palin has achieved that Obama has not.Of course I expect those afflicted with PDS will not even acknowledge such a feat.
(H/T Pirate's Cove)
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Anyone paying attention knew that Medicaid roles would swell under ObamaCare, and that's exactly what's happened. That doesn't automatically equate to access to health care for those new enrollees as many doctors either don't take Medicaid patients or they already have enough and can't afford to take any more. Of those doctors that do, they are going to see cuts in the amount the government will reimburse for each patient seen. That means more doctors will stop seeing Medicaid patients as it costs more to see them than the government will pay.Call it yet another example of Progressive economics coming into play.
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I must agree with David Starr on this one: I find it interesting that with the closing of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant that the local NPR station is more concerned with the jobs being lost with the plant closing rather than the electricity generated by the plant being replaced by another source. (It isn't.)As per usual, they are focusing on the wrong part of the story. I have no doubt people will bitch, moan, and complain about rising electric rates and shorter supplies. But what do they expect when they won't let anyone build the capacity needed to maintain things as it is? Too many NIMBYs and BANANAs are effing it up for everyone else. Of course they will be the first to complain when their electricity bills go up 20%, 30%, 50% or more.