Are red states all leeches?

Alternet's story to that end doesn't link to the NYT original, nor to TPM's take on it, but let's deconstruct it.

First, Alternet does acknowledge that red-state Texas is a mild anti-leach, but claims that's all due to resources. Well, if true, that would also apply to hard-rock mining in a number of Western states and the oil + gas + coal of Wyoming. Texas is rather a state with several big cities from red Houston to reddish Fort Worth to neutral Dallas (blue in the central core) to blue Austin.

And, on the flip side, California, the largest blue state, is a leech.

Second, the biggest red-state leech, Mississippi, is arguably so in part because of blue-type black voters, or black non-voters. That's the same reason blue-state New Mexico is a huge leech, too.

So, please, the story is more nuanced than Alternet plays it out to be.

What could be wrong with private space exploration?

Ohh, nothing ... other than the attitude like that, on planet Earth, that would turn exploration into exploitation. Here's a good SciAm blog on just how all this could wrongly play out.

Michael Mann swing his 'hockey stick'

As this L.A. Times column notes, Mann's desire to "fight back" against climate change denialists will be an uphill sled indeed after Peter Gleick's recent skullduggery. But, contra the column, I don't think he needs to rethink the attitude. He may need to think even more carefully than before about the approach.

But, rightfully or wrongfully obtained, what Gleick got, especially the new info about how Heartland wants to indoctrinate teachers to indoctrinate students to be "deniers" show that this is a battle, and a battle that must be joined.

Per Big Denialists' riffing on Big Tobacco, what if Philip Morris launched a massive campaign to get junior high and high school science teachers to talk about the health benefits of tobacco?

So, are you ready to rumble?

Mad about #SOPA? Read this book, among others

Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle For Internet Freedom by Rebecca MacKinnon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In the era of SOPA, PIPA, warrantless wiretapping, for-profit social media sites and more, this is a must-read book.

In the U.S., Europe, China, Iran and elsewhere, Rebecca MacKinnon tackles issues that boi down to the need for an "Internet bill of rights," sometimes vis-a-vis big government, and sometimes vis-a-vis big business. She also notes some of the conundrums this involves, like big government trying to regulate big business, western Internet-related companies selling equipment (Cisco and routers a classic example) to repressive government, Internet platforms cozying up to said governments and more.

The bottom line is, as MacKinnon makes clear, even if answers aren't easy, we need answers. We need them in specific legal and regulatory form. And we need them soon.



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An intro to Bill James and the MLB HOF

Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame by Bill James

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A good intro to James' sabermetric thoughts as they impact the Hall of Fame.

Though he says early on that this is NOT a book about who should be in or out, it's clear that he thought Phil Rizzuto (written before his induction) shouldn't be in, Dick Allen shouldn't be in, and Don Drysdale should be out, among others.

And, was Sandy Koufax's late career brilliance in part not only leaving Ebbetts Field, but then leaving the L.A. Coliseum and its short left field for spacious Dodger Stadium and it's ultra-high mound?

Agree or disagree, James will make you think, if you are prepared to do so.



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William O. Douglas - Iconoclastic liberal

The Court Years: The Autobiography Of William O. Douglas by William Orville Douglas

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A good overview of Bill Douglas' court years. Not totally shocked by what he thought of LBJ, including how much he manipulated us into Vietnam. I am shocked that he didn't always rate Thurgood Marshall highly outside of civil rights issues. That said, per Douglas, that Marshall never would vote for cert. on Vietnam War draft protesters appealing their draft calls because Congress never declared war, makes Douglas' feelings understandable.

To me, they had a great case, constitutionally. It's sad that most of the time, Hugo Black was apparently the only other judge who would grant cert.

The book gives you a good look at Douglas, a liberal for sure in America, but also an iconoclastic one.



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