Freezerbox Magazine - DispatchesCopyright © 1997-2024 Infocrat, LLC. All rights reserved.https://www.freezerbox.com/images/ads/freezerbox/bomb_88x31.gifhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blogs.php?id=212024-03-28T08:51:48ZThe Burning SeasonI returned to Los Angeles yesterday from Washington, DC, to find that fire season had begun. Those who don't believe Southern California has seasons fail to appreciate the region's nuances. We don't have foliage, but in the fall the hills burn. The Santa Ana winds blow, hot and dry, and somewhere in the Santa Monica or San Gabriel mountains a parched branch or piece of chaparral ignites. The water-starved brush around it goes up as well, and soon you have a scene like we had yesterday over Sunse...Michael Manville2005-09-30T21:38:54Z2005-09-30T21:38:54Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=131Is Oil Shale the Answer?I don't know much about shale, but James Hamilton spells out a number of problems with one of the much-discussed alternatives to oil. It looks better than nothing. But not much better.Michael Manville2005-09-30T20:52:45Z2005-09-30T20:52:45Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=130Energy and the Law of Large ProportionsHow do we conserve energy in the United States? That question has become more urgent in light of events in the Middle East, the brief gasoline shocks from Hurricane Katrina, and the new attention being given to Peak OilMichael Manville2005-09-28T04:37:02Z2005-09-28T04:37:02Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=127FBox on the RadioYours truly was interviewed last week by Bazooka Joe for his indyradio/podcast show, the Small World. Joe was an excellent interviewer and a kind editor -- he made me sound smarter than I am.
Anyone who wants to listen to the podcast can find it on the Small World web site. I talk about the origins of Freezerbox and the future of Internet media.Michael Manville2005-09-27T18:27:36Z2005-09-27T20:47:54Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=126More Astonishing StupidityThe religious right has now embraced the movie "March of the Penguins." Penguins, conservatives argue, are symbos of family values, and an argument for Intelligent Design. The Guardian reports:
Film critic Michael Medved was quoted by the New York Times calling it 'the motion picture this summer that most passionately affirms traditional norms like monogamy, sacrifice and child-rearing'. Speaki...Michael Manville2005-09-19T19:53:19Z2005-09-19T19:53:19Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=119Hitchens/GallowayEric Alterman watched the Hitchens Galloway debate and came away feeling sick:
I was disgusted to watch the Hitchens/Galloway debate on CSPAN yesterday. Both are brilliant debaters without much care whether the points they are making are consistent with the known evidence. Galloway is a considerably more offensive individual, and while he's right about much of what he says regarding Iraq, he's right for all the wrong reasons. He is the face of that part of the global left ...Michael Manville2005-09-19T19:43:11Z2005-09-19T19:53:44Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=118Stopping Abortion Protesters Steve Levitt reports on a new campaign by Planned Parenthood that will probably work. It will either stop protesters or raise money.
Michael Manville2005-09-19T19:36:54Z2005-09-19T19:36:54Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=117Flying Spaghetti MonsterismThe Intelligent Design movement continues to press ahead, determined to undo the theory of evolution, which is quite simply the greatest intellectual achievement of humankind. The theory of evolution has allowed us not just to explain our own origins and our relationship to the species around us, but also theMichael Manville2005-09-14T20:08:30Z2005-12-09T00:16:32Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=114The Case Against Rebuilding New OrleansJack Shafer makes the case here, at Slate. New Orleans, he points out, was not exactly a shangri-la of beignets and jazz clubs. For most people it was pathos masquerading as a city. A sample:
The police inspire so little trust that witnesses often refuse to testify in court. University researchers enlisted the police in an experiment last year, having them fire 700 blank gun rounds in a New Orleans neighborhood one afte...Michael Manville2005-09-14T19:53:47Z2005-09-14T19:53:47Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=113Failure of FEMA, Part IIKevin Drum gives the agency's recent history. His summation:
A crony with no relevant experience was installed as head of FEMA. Mitigation budgets for New Orleans were slashed even though it was known to be one of the top three risks in the country. FEMA was deliberately downsized as part of the Bush administration's conservative agenda to reduce the role of government. After DHS was created...Michael Manville2005-09-02T17:39:24Z2005-09-09T01:34:30Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=105The Failure of FEMAThe national government's response to New Orleans has been appalling. I copy here from Brad Delong's web page. He has scanned the blogosphere and assembled the roll call of incompetence:
Laura Rozen is surprised:
War and Piece: My lord, the guy heading FEMA has no qualifications. What was he doing before getting pulled into FEMA by the Bush administration in 2003? He was an estate planning lawyer in Colorado and of ...Michael Manville2005-09-01T20:26:36Z2005-09-09T01:38:03Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=103The Future of New OrleansThe situation now is terrible--the Red Cross certainly needs more donations. For a rather horrifying ongoing commentary from the city, see here. But most of the heavy lifting needs to be done by the federal government: the Army Corps of Engineers needs to repair the levees and drain the city, and FEMA needs to quickly establish a vast presence in the city. Unfortunately, both these agencies have seen their bu...Michael Manville2005-09-01T16:40:34Z2005-09-09T02:02:05Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=102Politics of Intelligent DesignThe American Prospect has a nice article on the roots of the Intelligent Design movement, including its connections to a number of evangelical Christian groups, and its to some prominent Republicans. A nice sample:
ID proponents have also teamed up with conservative Republican legislators to further advance their agenda. IDâs most signific...Michael Manville2005-08-31T17:07:13Z2005-08-31T17:07:13Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=101Has peak oil arrived already?James Hamilton of UCSD offers a slightly technical but enlightening discussion of the recent Cambridge Energy Associates report on oil supply and production. He concludes that wemay have hit the peak, but points out that the "peak" is likely quite different from what various prophets of doom have imagined it to be. It's an enlightening read.
As an aside, the current price of gas (and of oil) has very little...Michael Manville2005-08-30T15:46:33Z2005-08-30T15:46:33Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=100Astonishing StupidityThis is quite possible the stupidest thing I have ever read. I can only assume that the new mission of the Washington Post is to make everyone who reads it incrementally dumber. I can think of no other explanation for why such an exercise in illiteracy made it into print.Michael Manville2005-08-30T00:49:24Z2005-08-30T00:53:14Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=99Rolling Back the BlowhardsChristopher Hitchens met his match last week when he debated Jon Stewart on the Daily Show. Hitchens trotted out his usual good-vs-evil-liberals-hate-America routine, and Stewart called him on it. The video is here. The most telling part is the end--Hitchens can't wait to leave. Hitchens normally debates people who are equally if not more immoderate than he is (George Galloway, Tariq Ali) and ...Michael Manville2005-08-29T17:32:32Z2005-08-29T17:32:32Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=98A New Way to Increase TolerancePeter Gordon of USC points us to this item from the Wall Street Journal, which is just one more reason to find Scandinavians earnest and loveable.
"Not a Swedish Joke"
If you find yourself in Malmo, Sweden, and happen to see a homosexual, an imam and a gypsy walk into a bar, it's not a joke. These are just some of the people who can be borrowed -- yes, borrowed -- from the local library for a 45-minute chat in a nearby ...Michael Manville2005-08-26T19:01:15Z2005-08-26T19:01:15Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=96The Evolution DebateThere is no evolution debate. There is a debate about whether creationism or Intelligent Design (which is Creationism's better-disguised descendant--yes, even Creationism evolves) should be taught in high schools. I say it can be taught in theology class, or philosophy class, or maybe history. But not in science class, because it isn't science. There is no science in saying "God did it." Sorry. There isn't.
And that's why there is no "evolution debate." On one side is the entire scientific...Michael Manville2005-08-26T18:27:07Z2005-08-26T21:37:44Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=95Fox Media EthicsThis is nice.
LA HABRA, Calif. - A couple whose home was wrongly identified on national television as belonging to an Islamic radical has faced harassment, and police are providing special protection.
After the report ran on Fox News on Aug. 7, people have shouted profanities at Randy and Ronnell Vorick and spray-painted "terrorist" (spelling it "terrist") on their property.
"I'm scared...Michael Manville2005-08-26T00:24:18Z2005-08-26T00:37:32Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=94The Gasoline CrunchFrom the Center for American Progress.
Yesterday, with gas over $3 a gallon in many areas of the country, the Bush administration unveiled new fuel efficiency standards. The administration proposal squanders an opportunity to reduce demand for fuel - and actually encourages automakers to produce bigger, more fuel inefficient vehicles. Worse, the rules secretly undermine state efforts to do better. California recently appr...Michael Manville2005-08-25T17:36:28Z2005-08-25T17:36:28Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=93Pentagon Slogans Put on Soldiers' GravesI really hope this isn't what it seems like. That is, I really hope no one is using soldiers' graves as an advertisement to build support for wars:
Unlike earlier wars, nearly all Arlington National Cemetery gravestones for troops killed in Iraq or Afghanistan are inscribed with the slogan-like operation names the Pentagon selected to promote public support for the conflicts.
...Families are supposed to have final approval over what goes on the tombstones. That hasn't a...Michael Manville2005-08-23T19:47:05Z2005-08-23T19:47:05Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=92Buy Your Way Out of SUV GuiltReally, this is service has been a long time coming:
If you're feeling guilty about driving your giant sport utility vehicle (but not so guilty that you'd ever give it up), salvation is at hand. For a yearly fee of around $80, a company called TerraPass will offset the damage your SUV does to the atmosphere by spending your money to reduce industrial carbon emissions and to promote the spread of clean energy. They'll also send you a decal and a bumper sticker, so everyone in ...Michael Manville2005-08-22T16:58:29Z2005-08-22T17:00:21Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=91Party of National SecurityWho served in the military, and who didn't? The list is Michael Manville2005-08-22T16:51:52Z2005-08-22T16:51:52Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=90Who Won the 2000 election?It's the sore question that just won't go away. Conspiracies abound about Ohio in 2004, and they may or may not have some basis in fact. But as more and more people look at Florida in 2000, there seems less and less doubt that Al Gore actually won the state.
Paul Krugman is the most recent observer to take another look at Florida. He was prompted by Andrew Gumbel's book Michael Manville2005-08-22T16:34:26Z2005-08-22T16:44:22Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=89Miller Denied Journalism AwardFrom Editor & Publisher:
The board of The American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) has voted unanimously to not endorse an earlier decision to give a Conscience in Media award to jailed New York Times reporter Judith Miller, E&P has learned.
The group's First Amendment committee had narrowly voted to give Miller the prize for her dedication to protecting so...Michael Manville2005-08-04T18:07:26Z2005-08-19T17:13:20Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=84Super-HannityIt seems, after seeing this, that there may well be nothing more to say. Ever.
A new comic book is coming out. It is set in a dystopian future (2021) when liberals have seized control of the world, Michael Moore is President, Chelsea Clinton is Vice President, and Osama bin Laden is Afghanistan's amabassador to the UN--which of course now runs the world. The planet is careening toward chaos and violence, and our only hope is--I kid you not--superheroes Sean Hannity, Oliver North and G. Gor...Michael Manville2005-08-04T17:57:57Z2005-08-04T17:57:57Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=83The Idiot WatchTwo cases of idiocy, one more dangerous than the other.
1. Gorgeous George Galloway, the ragingly left-wing member of Britain's Parliament who warmed the hearts of liberals everywhere by tearing Norm Coleman limb from limb in his Senate testimony, yesterday brought shame (as we all knew he would) to everyone who opposed the Iraq war, by going on Al-Jazeera and essentially inciting Islamist violence:
Two of your beautiful daughters are in the hands of foreigners - Jerus...Michael Manville2005-08-04T17:39:13Z2005-08-04T18:14:29Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=82Santorum - The Phantom Menace!Ever notice how some right-wing pundits (and to be fair, some left-wing pundits) cast aspersions on entire groups by attributing statements to them that were seemingly made by no individual? Christopher Hitchens is rather notorious for this, blaming various pro-terrorist sentiments on members of "the Left", and if witnesses can be believed, at a debate in New York about dissent he made some libelous statement to the effect that people "on the left" think flying airplanes into buildings is a wort...Michael Manville2005-08-03T18:45:57Z2005-08-19T17:42:49Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=80Baseball and IraqDoes Baseball demand more accountability than government. Eric Alterman makes the case:
Great Quotes in History or, Why Can't Life be More Like Baseball?
"I have never intentionally used steroids. Never. Ever. Period."
The guy who said that was slapped with a ten day suspension. But what about these guys?
"Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mas...Michael Manville2005-08-02T17:25:40Z2005-08-19T17:43:40Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=79War and Moral HazardFrom today's Washington Post:
Who's Paying for Our Patriotism?
By Uwe E. Reinhardt
Monday, August 1, 2005; A17
President Bush assures us that the ongoing twin wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are worth the sacrifices they entail. Editorialists around the nation agree and say that a steadfast American public was willing to stay the course.
Should anyone be surprised by this national resolve, given that these wars visit no sacrifice of any sort -- neither blood nor angst nor...Michael Manville2005-08-01T16:25:02Z2005-08-01T16:25:02Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=77Miller TimeAmid the Supreme Court nomination, the London attacks, and the continued violence in Iraq, some of you may have forgotten that New York Times reporter Judith Miller continues to languish in jail. Miller has managed to put herself at the heart of both the Iraq-WMD controversy and the Karl Rove-Valerie Plame controversy. No small feat, even for a little town like DC.
The current rumor is that Miller won't testify before the special prosecutor because she may have been a source, rather than a...Michael Manville2005-07-29T21:00:04Z2005-07-29T23:18:07Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=75Apocalypse SoonI encourage everyone to wander over to Rapture Ready, a website that "scientifically" tracks the return of Christ and the final fight between good and evil.
The group's Rapture Index uses 45 separate variables (among them floods, false Christs, conditions in Israel, Inflation, and Apostasy) to determine the nearness of the Rapture. Currently the Index is at 150.
Here's a sample ...Michael Manville2005-07-27T17:20:00Z2005-08-19T17:16:20Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=74Stolen Election, Part DeuxA correspondent directs me to Black Box Voting, which apparently has a wealth of information about how voting machines can be rigged by a very small (4-5) number of people.
Again, I'm far from convinced that the election was compromised--although it certainly would be nice to blame someone other than the American people for the current occupant of the White House--but people do seem to be plowing away at this topic. I haven't fully digested the...Michael Manville2005-07-27T17:02:47Z2005-07-29T02:53:08Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=73Stolen Election?The current issue of Harper's has an article by Mark Crispin Miller about irregularities in the 2004 election. I am not convinced that the election was stolen, and neither, for that matter, is Miller. It's entirely possible that the election went off perfectly fairly, and also entirely possible that some votes were stolen but that the outcome of the election would not have changed. I'm also not interested, even if the election does turn out to have been compromised, in seeing Bush step down or s...Michael Manville2005-07-26T19:35:22Z2005-07-28T22:15:55Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=72The George Miller Animal HouseThe Los Angeles Times has a nice profile today of California Rep. George Miller, who--in addition to being one of the more liberal members of Congress, also runs a boarding house for other Democrats who need a place to crash during the week.
Miller is well-known among the anti-Wal Mart crowd. His office released a major Michael Manville2005-07-25T19:29:13Z2005-07-26T00:19:57Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=69Department of Improbable ResearchPhysicists in Hungary have performed a series of quantitative analyses to explain the dynamics of the wave. Not the wave as in the ocean, but the wave as in the vaguely annoying ballgame ritual that forces you to stand up every few minutes while hopefully not dropping your hot dog or spilling your beer. Their research was published in the journal Nature, albeit not as a peer-reviewed article. The simulation model they developed can be viewed Michael Manville2005-07-21T23:33:52Z2005-07-21T23:39:18Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=67What if John Roberts were John Kerry?The Daily Kos runs an excerpt from blogger Billmon, who fantasizes about how a Karl Rove-led campaign against John Roberts might unfold:
Blasting Roberts as a corporate lawyer is an excellent smear tactic. People hate lawyers. They dislike and mistrust big corporations. It also conveniently happens to be true -- just as it was literally true that John Kerry is an upper crust Bostonian married to a woman with a fuckload of dough. Sliming Roberts ...Michael Manville2005-07-21T17:33:55Z2005-08-19T17:45:42Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=66Peak Oil and EconomicsIt's an old story: geologists, biologists and engineers proclaim the impending depletion of some vital resource, and speculate as to the various catastrophes that might ensue. Economists yawn and tell everyone to relax.
So far the economists have been right. Paul Ehrlich predicted overpopulation, human misery and resource depletion: to his consternation but our good fortune, it has yet to arrive. In 1973 the Club of Rome report announced that coal, oil, zinc and other resources would all ...Michael Manville2005-07-20T23:26:13Z2005-07-21T00:03:55Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=65The Effectiveness of Foreign AidThe folks at the Marginal Revolution point us to the current New Yorker, where James Surowiecki makes the levelheaded case for aid to Africa. Yes, money is often stolen. Yes, aid alone is insufficient to end poverty. But no, this does not mean all foreign aid should stop:
Itâs a myth that aid is doomed to failure. Foreign aid funded the campaign to e...Michael Manville2005-07-20T16:26:06Z2005-07-21T17:36:36Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=64Valerie Plame - Desk Jockey?More than one conservative pundit has said so, the implication being that her outing just wasn't that big of a deal.
Now, however, a bipartisan group of 11 former intelligence officials has released a letter vigorously disputing those claims. The group argues that the leak did indeed harm national security, and that those who say otherwise reveal an "astonishing ignorance" of how the intelligence community works.
Michael Manville2005-07-20T15:43:39Z2005-07-20T15:43:39Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=63Can we get 100 mpg?This past Sunday's Los Angeles Times had a nice article by Dan Neil about Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs). Neil drove a PHEV Toyota Prius--basically a regular Prius that some rogue engineers had souped up--and got mind-boggling fuel efficiency. Here's some choice excerpts:
Does it work? In the time it takes for Hanssen to explain the car's operation, we have traveled 9.09 mil...Michael Manville2005-07-19T16:27:11Z2005-07-19T16:36:58Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=62A Good QuestionFrom the White House Press Briefing:
Q: Two years, and [President Bush] can't call Rove in and find out what the hell is going on? I mean, why is it so difficult to find out the facts? It costs thousands, millions of dollars, two years, it tied up how many lawyers? All he's got to do is call him in.
MR. McCLELLAN: You just heard from the President. He said he doesn't know all the facts. I don't know all the facts.
Q : Why?
MR. McCLELLAN: We want to know what...Michael Manville2005-07-19T16:20:17Z2005-07-19T16:21:20Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=60Sidney Blumenthal on PlameGateA nice article in Salon.
Michael Manville2005-07-15T21:28:24Z2005-07-15T21:28:24Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=58The Consistency of the GOP
From Think Progress:
Appearing on Fox this morning, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey said the following in regards to his assessment of the growing leak scandal:
Weâve got Karl Rove, who is under this constant attack of political malarkey, who has probably the most documented case of his evidence of anyone in the the whole story. So quite frankly, I think the American people are seeing it for what it is right now. Mor...Michael Manville2005-07-15T21:26:01Z2005-07-15T21:26:01Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=57Aviation Tip of the DayDon't buy a last minute ticket when you have dossiers of the 9/11 terrorists in your carry-on.Michael Manville2005-07-15T17:47:41Z2005-07-15T17:47:41Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=56Feds Won't Fund Transit SafetyHomeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has told the AP and testified before Congress that states and localities must fund security upgrades for public transportation, because federal money needs to go toward aviation.
"The truth of the matter is, a fully loaded airplane with jet fuel, a commercial airliner, has the...Michael Manville2005-07-14T19:28:31Z2005-07-14T21:13:31Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=54Party of National Security No MoreAlthough the White House won't talk about Karl Rove ("sanctity of the investigation" and all that) the rest of the Republican spin machine is in high gear, busily smearing Valerie Plame (career public servant) and Joseph Wilson (also a career public servant) as lying, far-left agitators. The n'est plus ultra of this line of thought is to be found, unsurprisingly, in the Wall Street Journal, where today's lead Michael Manville2005-07-13T16:55:56Z2005-07-13T18:25:56Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=46Santorum Solves the Catholic Church ScandalPennslyvania Senator and all-around wingnut Rick Santorum has figured out who was to blame for Boston's Catholic church pedophilia scandal: liberal professors at MIT. I kid you not.
This morning's Boston Globe has a column by Brian McGrory detailing Santorum's thesis that the Church scandal happened in Boston because Boston is overrun with liberalism.
''When the culture is sick, eve...Michael Manville2005-07-12T16:59:13Z2005-07-12T17:16:19Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=44The Art of DoublespeakScott McLellan tries to evade his past statements, and--miracle of miracles--the White House Press Corps calls him on it. It's more than a little absurd that Judith Miller is in jail over this while the White House hems and haws. Also, hasn't the White House for two years been saying that 1) top administration officials weren't involved in the Valerie Plame leak, and that 2) the leaker would be fired?
And doesn't that mean that Karl Rove, regardless of the legality of what he did--regardl...Michael Manville2005-07-12T00:25:34Z2005-07-12T00:25:34Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=41Cities and terrorismEarlier I wrote about why cities make attractive targets for terrorism. One reason was that high population densities provide both anonymity (for the terrorists) and a lot of victims (i.e., on a subway or crowded street.)
Now the folks at the Marginal Revolution point me to today's Wall Street Journal, which has a caveat: high density at a bomb site can generate more injuries but a lower overall death toll. This in turn means that finding a bo...Michael Manville2005-07-11T17:18:25Z2005-07-11T17:18:25Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=39Rail SecurityAlthough nothing can make a transit system completely safe, the US could certainly be doing much more than it does now. The Bush Administration has proposed about $115 million for transit security for the current year. That's pretty paltry, especially when you consider that we spend about $345 million a day in Iraq.
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) argues that $6 billion would make the nation's public transportation systems significantly safer. This is, again, somethi...Michael Manville2005-07-08T18:08:07Z2005-07-08T18:18:12Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=38More MillerAnyone interested in the full debate over Judith Miller's imprisonment and the many ambiguities that swirl around it should go to the Poynter Insitute's blog. I've made my position known, but here it is again in short:
Is this a collapse of press freedom? Maybe. The judge is sort of scary, but I don't think shielding a whistleblower is the same as shielding someone trying to crush a whistleblower.
Is Judith Miller courageous? Ab...Michael Manville2005-07-07T18:40:34Z2005-07-07T18:43:34Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=37Attacks in LondonNeedless to say this morning's bombings are appalling. It bothers me that almost four years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden is still at large, and that much of the public and (it seems) military's attention is directed elsewhere. Obviously the situation in Iraq demands our attention, but the fact that bin Laden was able to orchestrate 9/11 and elude authorities for this long must certainly encourage anyone else out there hoping to strike a major western city. Let's step up the hunt for bin Laden and...Michael Manville2005-07-07T17:42:44Z2005-07-07T18:03:55Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=35Oh, PleaseBob Geldoff has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Apparently the award can be given to any person who organizes a whole bunch of charity concerts that raise no money. On the other hand, I see that album sales for all the participating bands have gone up. So the concert certainly helped SOMEONE. The good people of Africa have finally kickstarted the flagging fortunes of Pink Floyd. That's wort...Michael Manville2005-07-07T00:27:55Z2005-07-07T00:31:57Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=33I like Rosa BrooksShe doesn't like Judith Miller.
And while we're at it, since the media still seem to be playing the Judy violins, let's revisit Franklin Foer's critique of her in New York magazine.
Michael Manville2005-07-06T17:42:58Z2005-07-06T17:47:43Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=32September 11 and Occam's RazorMy colleague Russell Wellen has posted a missive on LIHOP vs MIHOP -- essentially the question of whether the Bush Administration, with regard to September 11, "Let It Happen on Purpose" or "Made It Happen on Purpose." These ideas seem to be creeping into the conversation about 9/11--a fact that I find dismaying. Actually that's an understatement--it greatly disturbs me.
So I am going to offer a friendly dissent, and defend the mainstream point of view: that radical Islamic fanatics flew p...Michael Manville2005-07-05T18:33:01Z2005-07-05T21:25:31Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=31Benjamin Wittes on the Future of RoeWhat if the new Supreme Court overturns Roe vs Wade? Would this be a disaster for women's rights and liberalism? Benjamin Wittes, in his article
"Letting Go of Roe" in the January Atlantic Monthly (subscription required), argues that it would not, and that in fact Roe has weakened the case for abortion by removing it from the court of public opinion and putting into the (easily vilified) Supreme Court.
By removi...Michael Manville2005-07-05T17:40:30Z2005-07-05T17:40:30Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=30The Judith Miller LiesTime Inc. has capitulated to the special prosecutor investigating the outing of Valerie Plame, and it will turn over documentation to the government about the person or persons who contacted its reporter with the identity of a covert CIA agent.
To recap briefly: in 2002 Joseph Wilson is sent on a mission to Nigeria to determine if Iraq tried to purchase materials that could be used in a nuclear weapon. Wilson quickly finds that Ira did no such thing, and that in fact documents alleging the...Michael Manville2005-07-05T17:38:42Z2005-07-05T17:50:54Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=29Now It Will Hit the fanSandra Day O'Connor resigns from the Supreme Court. This will be one messy fight with a whole lot of lobbyists...Michael Manville2005-07-01T17:21:41Z2005-07-01T17:21:41Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=24Vietnam Deja Vu?The Altercation weblog today reprints a prescient list from 2003 that was originally posted on MediaWhoresOnline. Here Goes:
VIETNAM 2 PREFLIGHT CHECK
1. Cabal of oldsters who wonât listen to outside
advice? Check.
2. No understanding of ethnicities of the many
locals? Check.
3. Imposing country boundaries drawn in Europe,
not by the locals? Check.
4. Unshakeable faith in our superior technology?
Check.
5. France secretly hoping we fall on...Michael Manville2005-06-30T19:07:32Z2005-06-30T19:14:37Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=23Vietnam Deja Vu?The Altercation weblog today reprints a prescient list from 2003 that was originally posted on MediaWhoresOnline. Here Goes:
VIETNAM 2 PREFLIGHT CHECK
1. Cabal of oldsters who wonât listen to outside advice? Check.
2. No understanding of ethnicities of the many locals? Check.
3. Imposing country boundaries drawn in Europe, not by the locals? Check.
4. Unshakeable faith in our superior technology? Check.
5. France secretly hoping we fall on...Michael Manville2005-06-30T19:07:32Z2005-06-30T19:07:32Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=22Is Soros Too Anti-Bush for Baseball?The folks over at the Marginal Revolution point us to a story that is both frightening and insane: a political litmus test to buy a baseball team. Quoting the Washington Post:
Major League Baseball hasn't narrowed the
list of the eight bidders seeking to buy the Washington Nationals and some Republicans on Capitol Hill already are hinting at revoking the league's antitrust exemption if billionaire financier George Soros, an ar...Michael Manville2005-06-29T21:15:48Z2005-06-30T00:28:39Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=20The Anatomy of PorkLA Times reporter Ken Silverstein has a nice, albeit depressing, article on pork barrel politics in the new issue of Harper's (not yet available online).
In small doses, what we call pork isn't automatically a bad thing, and in any event it's pretty hard to wring pork barrel spending completely out of the federalist system. Pork happens because legislators need to get re-elected, and so they seek to maximize benefits for their constituents while shielding them from costs. So they agree, ...Michael Manville2005-06-28T16:44:10Z2005-06-28T19:57:29Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=19Krugman the Isolationist?Alex Tabarrok, my second-favorite libertarian economist (the first being Tyler Cowen) unloads on Paul Krugman for his most recent column on China, saying he has abandoned both liberalism and economics. Has he? Here's Alex's take:
Marginal revolution: Paul Krugman used to be a liberal economist; no longer. His abandonment of economics has long been plain, Krugman's abandonment of liberalism was announced in yesterday's commentary on China.
What really upset me about Krugman's col...Michael Manville2005-06-28T16:34:38Z2005-06-28T18:50:59Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=18Armored Vehicles in IraqNothing is too good for the troops -- except, apparently, the vehicles we use to ferry VIPs around Iraq. The New York Times has the story, and I plucked it off Brad Delong's web site:
Safer Vehicles for Soldiers: A Tale of Delays and Glitches - New York Times : By MICHAEL MOSS: When Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld visited Iraq last year to tour the Abu Ghraib prison camp, military officials did not rely on a government-issued Humvee to transport him safely on the ground. Instead...Michael Manville2005-06-27T18:52:13Z2005-06-27T18:52:13Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=16The French WorkweekA new study argues that lowering the French work week to 35 hours created 350,000 jobs. Here's a link to a story.
I haven't read the study itself yet, but since the government commissioned it I'm not sure how many of its conclusions we should take at face value. Once I get a chance to read the report maybe I'll have more to say.
But here's my initial thought on analyses like this one: obviously they're use...Michael Manville2005-06-24T23:22:28Z2005-06-25T03:41:21Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=15The Hillary SmearI've always been a little puzzled by the right wing hatred of Hillary Clinton. Forests have been felled to describe this woman's malign intent, and for the most part what we have gotten out of the effort is 1) a whole lot of dreck, often involving assertions that she is a deranged radical and/or a leftist 2) evidence that she is highly ambitious, and 3)evidence that she can be cold and/or mercurial.
Now, I'm willing to believe numbers 2 and 3, because they describe, well, a whole lot of p...Michael Manville2005-06-24T22:04:47Z2005-06-25T15:11:25Zhttps://www.freezerbox.com/archive/blog.php?id=14