A couple of days ago I posted No Degree, Little Experience Pay Off Big about how Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker hired an unqualified son of a big doner as head of environmental and regulatory affairs at the Commerce Department. Last night Rachel Maddow showed the qualifications of some of the other candidates for that position.
Since the story broke Walker has demoted the 27 year-old. The other candidates were:
"The first, Oscar Herrera, is a former state cabinet secretary under Republican Gov. Scott McCallum with a doctoral degree and eight years' experience overseeing the cleanup of petroleum-contaminated sites. The second, Bernice Mattsson, is a professional engineer who served since 2003 in the post to which Deschane was appointed. By contrast, Deschane has no college degree, little management experience and a couple of drunken-driving convictions. His father represents a trade group that gave more than $121,000 to Walker and his running mate."
As Maddow said, if you think government is the problem, maybe you suck at running it (ok, I paraphrased slightly). Jon Stewart used to phrase it as, it only sucks when you (meaning Republicans) run it.
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Frequently Used Trailer Cues | FILMdetail
FilmDetail has a collection of Frequently Used Trailer Cues. "Various pieces of film music often end up in trailers for other movies but some appear more frequently than others. When you watch a trailer for an upcoming film, the music featured is not necessarily what you hear in the final cut. Often this is because the film and score haven’t been finished, but there are some musical cues that keep re-appearing. The movie music website Soundtrack.net have compiled a long list of frequently used cues from trailers and here are the top five."
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
More Krugman on Ryan
Paul Ryan's Multiple Unicorns. "Ryan is assuming that everything aside from health and SS can be squeezed from 12 percent of GDP now to 3 1/2 percent of GDP. That’s bigger than the assumed cut in health care spending relative to baseline; it accounts for all of the projected deficit reduction, since the alleged health savings are all used to finance tax cuts. And how is this supposed to be accomplished? Not explained."
Where the Spending Cuts Go. "Ryan is proposing huge (and largely unspecified) spending cuts; but he’s also proposing very large tax cuts, mainly, of course, for those with high incomes. And as you can see, a large part — roughly half — of the spending cuts are going, not to deficit reduction, but to finance those tax cuts."
Memory Hole Alert. The Heritage Foundation has already removed the 2.8 percent unemployment figure from their report. In fact they removed all their "Civilian Unemployment Rate" estimates. "I mean, really, guys — this is all over the blogosphere; did you really think you could get away with pretending it was never there?"
Where the Spending Cuts Go. "Ryan is proposing huge (and largely unspecified) spending cuts; but he’s also proposing very large tax cuts, mainly, of course, for those with high incomes. And as you can see, a large part — roughly half — of the spending cuts are going, not to deficit reduction, but to finance those tax cuts."
Memory Hole Alert. The Heritage Foundation has already removed the 2.8 percent unemployment figure from their report. In fact they removed all their "Civilian Unemployment Rate" estimates. "I mean, really, guys — this is all over the blogosphere; did you really think you could get away with pretending it was never there?"
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
Earth Has A Companion Asteroid With a Weird Orbit
Earth Has A Companion Asteroid With a Weird Orbit "There are plenty of near-Earth asteroids out there, but this latest one studied by two researchers at Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland is extremely rare in that it has a weird, horseshoe-shaped orbit. Not that Asteroid 2010 SO16 does an about-face and turns around in mid-orbit — no, the asteroid always orbits the Sun in the same direction. But because of its unique orbital path and the gravitational effects from both the Earth and the Sun, it goes through a cycle of catching up with the Earth and falling behind, so that from our perspective here on Earth, its movement relative to both the Sun and the Earth traces a shape like the outline of a horseshoe: it appears to approach, then shift orbit, and go farther away without ever passing Earth."
More on Paul Ryan’s Budget Plan
Ezra Klein has, as usual, been busy. First he provides Paul Ryan’s budget in summary which is nice and short. Then he points out that CBO looks at RyanCare. "Medicare beneficiaries will be left paying more for less and...Medicaid’s are simply getting less." "As the CBO recognizes, a lot of what Ryan is doing isn’t saving money so much as shifting costs. Poor people and seniors don’t need less health care because Medicare and Medicaid are providing less health care. They just have to pay for more of it on their own."
He then gets more into Paul Ryan’s funny numbers. "For one thing, he’s assuming repealing the Affordable Care Act will save $1.4 trillion over the next 10 years. The Congressional Budget Office says keeping Affordable Care Act saves more than $200 billion over the same period...So something is wrong there." "Then there’s Ryan’s admission, on page 59, that’s he’s using dynamic scoring, which is a scoring model in which the cost of tax cuts is blunted by assumptions about future growth caused by the tax cuts...What we do know is that the model is returning some truly off-the-wall results. It assumes, for instance, that Ryan’s budget will bring unemployment down to 2.8 percent in 2021. That’s just bananas."
FDL writes Ryan’s Budget Plan Is Ridiculous, But It Could Shift the Debate. "So this is a pretty pathetic budget. And it also happens to be a complete fiction. The numbers are not to be trusted at all. Ryan assumes $1.4 trillion in savings from health care repeal when the Congressional Budget Office scores repeal as increasing the deficit. He uses "dynamic scoring"; to perpetuate a fiction that tax cuts will increase tax revenue. He sets unrealistic spending caps without determining how to get there or how future Congresses not bound by his budget will abide by them. Worst, he assumes a world-historical low unemployment rate based on a Heritage Foundation study that claimed the Bush tax cuts would lead to the same kind of prosperity (hint: they didn't). Indeed, by 2021, Ryan assumes a 2.8% unemployment rate, which is how he achieves the revenue needed to make the numbers work. Included with this projection is an implausible housing boom. Jim Tankersley and Katy O'Donnell, middle-of-the-road journalists, say in their headline that the plan "pushes optimism to the outer limits."...As long as everyone's throwing around the word "serious," this is the least serious budget proposal in recent history. It's made up of unicorns and rainbows. That's aside from the fact that kicking 32 million Americans off their health insurance is fundamentally immoral."
Robert Reich makes the case Paul Ryan's Plan, the Coming Shutdown, and What's Really at Stake "That’s why it’s so important that the President have something more to say to the American people than ‘I want to cut spending, too, but the Republican cuts go too far.’ The ‘going too far’ argument is no match for a worldview that says government is the central problem to begin with. Obama must show America that the basic choice is between two fundamental views of this nation. Either we’re all in this together, or we’re a bunch of individuals who happen to live within these borders and are mainly on their own."
Mathew Yglesias explains Conservative Opposition To Human Happiness. He quotes two reports of two conservative conferences. Comparing life now to that in the early 60s people are lazy and playing video games instead of working hard (I'm summarizing badly here). "In both cases the conservative conceit seems to be that a decline in human suffering is a bad thing because it leads to a corresponding decline in admirable anti-suffering effort."
He then gets more into Paul Ryan’s funny numbers. "For one thing, he’s assuming repealing the Affordable Care Act will save $1.4 trillion over the next 10 years. The Congressional Budget Office says keeping Affordable Care Act saves more than $200 billion over the same period...So something is wrong there." "Then there’s Ryan’s admission, on page 59, that’s he’s using dynamic scoring, which is a scoring model in which the cost of tax cuts is blunted by assumptions about future growth caused by the tax cuts...What we do know is that the model is returning some truly off-the-wall results. It assumes, for instance, that Ryan’s budget will bring unemployment down to 2.8 percent in 2021. That’s just bananas."
FDL writes Ryan’s Budget Plan Is Ridiculous, But It Could Shift the Debate. "So this is a pretty pathetic budget. And it also happens to be a complete fiction. The numbers are not to be trusted at all. Ryan assumes $1.4 trillion in savings from health care repeal when the Congressional Budget Office scores repeal as increasing the deficit. He uses "dynamic scoring"; to perpetuate a fiction that tax cuts will increase tax revenue. He sets unrealistic spending caps without determining how to get there or how future Congresses not bound by his budget will abide by them. Worst, he assumes a world-historical low unemployment rate based on a Heritage Foundation study that claimed the Bush tax cuts would lead to the same kind of prosperity (hint: they didn't). Indeed, by 2021, Ryan assumes a 2.8% unemployment rate, which is how he achieves the revenue needed to make the numbers work. Included with this projection is an implausible housing boom. Jim Tankersley and Katy O'Donnell, middle-of-the-road journalists, say in their headline that the plan "pushes optimism to the outer limits."...As long as everyone's throwing around the word "serious," this is the least serious budget proposal in recent history. It's made up of unicorns and rainbows. That's aside from the fact that kicking 32 million Americans off their health insurance is fundamentally immoral."
Robert Reich makes the case Paul Ryan's Plan, the Coming Shutdown, and What's Really at Stake "That’s why it’s so important that the President have something more to say to the American people than ‘I want to cut spending, too, but the Republican cuts go too far.’ The ‘going too far’ argument is no match for a worldview that says government is the central problem to begin with. Obama must show America that the basic choice is between two fundamental views of this nation. Either we’re all in this together, or we’re a bunch of individuals who happen to live within these borders and are mainly on their own."
Mathew Yglesias explains Conservative Opposition To Human Happiness. He quotes two reports of two conservative conferences. Comparing life now to that in the early 60s people are lazy and playing video games instead of working hard (I'm summarizing badly here). "In both cases the conservative conceit seems to be that a decline in human suffering is a bad thing because it leads to a corresponding decline in admirable anti-suffering effort."
Paul Ryan’s Plan
Ezra Klein looked at the Medicaid portions of Ryan's plan Cutting Medicaid means cutting care for the poor, sick and elderly. "Ryan’s op-ed introducing his budget lists Medicaid under “welfare reform,” reflecting the widespread belief that Medicaid is a program for the poor. That belief is wrong, or at least incomplete. A full two-thirds of Medicaid’s spending goes to seniors and people with disabilities — even though seniors and the disabled are only a quarter of Medicaid’s members. Sharply cutting Medicaid means sharply cutting their benefits, as that’s where the bulk of Medicaid’s money goes."
"But perhaps cutting it wouldn’t be so bad if there were a lot of waste in Medicaid. But there isn’t. Medicaid is cheap. Arguably too cheap. Its reimbursements are so low many doctors won’t accept Medicaid patients. Its costs grew less quickly than those of private insurance over the past decade, and at this point, a Medicaid plan is about 20 percent cheaper than an equivalent private-insurance plan. As it happens, I don’t think Medicaid is a great program, and I’d be perfectly happy to see it moved onto the exchanges once health-care reform is up and running. But the reason that’s unlikely to happen isn’t ideology. It’s money. Giving Medicaid members private insurance would cost many billions of dollars."
Yglesias follows up, Paul Ryan Slams Medicaid’s Middle Class Beneficiaries As The New Welfare Queens. "And what about the steep Medicaid cuts? Well according to Ryan op-ed they’re a kind of “welfare reform”. In other words, people are supposed to think Medicaid is that “bad” kind of government spending, the one that goes to shiftless black folks not hard-working Americans like you and me and Paul Ryan."
Medicaid "is mostly a program for the elderly and the disabled. It’s the main way we finance long-term care in this country. If you don’t directly benefit from it, you very likely have a parent or grandparent who does and whose financial needs will simply tend to fall on you if the program is cut. Meanwhile, in terms of the “welfare” aspect of Medicaid by far the largest set of poor people it covers are poor children. Is Ryan’s view that these kids should have worked harder to have rich parents?"
As to his Medicare proposals, Kevin Drum asks So Where's the Medicare Plan?. He says there's just two paragraphs in his proposal. "For now, I'm going to assume that I'm missing something. There must be a more detailed document around somewhere that I haven't found yet." Later he wrote: "his Medicare proposal is basically just a PR document, right? It has zero chance of being enacted, and there's pretty much zero chance of anything like it being enacted. It's just a conversation starter, not a serious attempt to produce a workable piece of legislation."
Ryan released a whole proposed budget. The National Journal writes, The Ryan Budget: Big Cuts, Bigger Questions. Mathew Yglesias points out Paul Ryan’s Tax Plan Based On Discredited Heritage Foundation Analysis That Forecast Bush Boom and then picks up on one point, Paul Ryan’s Plan Counts On Reducing Unemployment To Below “Full Employment” Level — By Magic!. "An analysis performed by the conservative Heritage Foundation at Ryan’s request found the unemployment rate would be reduced to 4 percent in 2015 by Ryan’s budget, an incredibly low number when many economists believe the economy will not return to so-called “full employment” of about 5 percent until years after that. It’s worth noting that this is not just unrealistic, it’s impossible. When unemployment drops beneath 5 percent, the Federal Reserve starts raising interest rates until a recession pushes it back up.” Then he wrote: "According to the study cited above, Mr Ryan’s plan will bring the unemployment rate down to 6.4% next year, 4.0% in 2015, and 2.8% in 2021.” 2.8 percent in 2021! There no way of doing this short of shooting unemployed people in the back of the head."
Krugman wrote "This is ridiculous; it’s megalomaniacal. If Obama tried to claim that his policies would achieve anything like this, he’d be laughed out of office." with this graph:
That's convincing isn't it?
The Economist has a good post, You put the load right on me. "The idea of making market forces work to bring down health-care and health-insurance costs is plausible. What's not plausible is the idea that average individuals are the best-placed people to be carrying out those negotiations. It's entirely possible to set up markets where powerful, well-informed organisations represent individuals in negotiations with insurers and providers in order to bring prices down, without putting those individuals at risk of losing their coverage or of having to go untreated. That's how the Affordable Care Act envisions saving money on Medicare, without running the risk that the elderly will lose their health-insurance coverage. Mr Ryan's proposal is to save money by capping the amount the government will spend on insurance, and letting individual seniors fight the rest out on their own."
James Kwak wrote on this a couple of weeks ago (I'm catching up on my Instapaper queue). Incentives Don’t Work. "One refrain you heard incessantly during the health care reform debate was that we have high health care costs because of overconsumption and we have overconsumption because people don’t bear a high enough share of their marginal health care costs, so the solution is to increase copays and deductibles. This is what Economics 101 would tell you: people respond to incentives. But Gawande discussed one large company that tried this year after year, but only saw their costs going up. The problem was that while most members responded to the higher copays and kept their costs more or less steady, the 5 percent of members who generated 60 percent of the costs behaved differently. Or, rather, they also reduced consumption (of doctor’s visits and prescription medications), but as a result they often had catastrophic outcomes. These were people with heart disease on cholesterol-lowering medications, and when they went off their medications they ended up in the hospital with heart attacks and then with congestive heart failure."
Mark Thoma summed up the Economist's post as The Ryan Plan Is Fundamentally Immoral and followed up on the issues with market-based solutions. "The game being played here has little to do with the budget itself. It is an ideological debate about the role and obligation of government. First, cut taxes for the wealthy to create a big hole in the budget, have a Great Recession aid the cause by stripping government at all levels of tax revenue, increasing costs of serving people, and creating short-run deficit problems (and a war here and there doesn't hurt the cause either), and finally use the deficit as a club against social insurance programs such as Medicare and Social Security. The cover for the attempt to get government out of the social insurance game is the deficit, but deficit reduction is not the primary purpose. The goal to reduce the government's involvement in these programs by whatever means. If deficit reduction was, in fact, the primary goal, there are much better ways to do this than the Ryan plan, e.g. the market-based mechanisms in the ACA." Ezra Klein adds a bit to that in How to do Ryan’s health-care reforms right.
I of course get annoyed at the hypocrisy of the right.
Think Progress reports RNC Chair Priebus Criticizes Obama For Cutting Medicare, Then Touts Paul Ryan’s Medicare-Busting Budget. On it's anniversary, Ezra Klein tried to explain the health care reform law.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz To Be Democratic National Committee Chair
Debbie Wasserman Schultz picked as Democratic National Committee chair. If she makes one public statement I think she'll be more outspoken than the current chairman. I had to lookup that it's Tim Kaine.
No Degree, Little Experience Pay Off Big
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinal reports, No degree, little experience pay off big. Gov. Scott Walker's (R-WI) administration gave a $81,500-per-year job to 26 year-old Brian Deschane. As you read the details, it just gets more amazing.
"His father is Jerry Deschane, executive vice president and longtime lobbyist for the Madison-based Wisconsin Builders Association, which bet big on Walker during last year's governor's race...Total donations: $121,652."
The job is "overseeing environmental and regulatory matters and dozens of employees at the Department of Commerce."
"Hulsey said he was unimpressed with the younger Deschane's résumé, including his lack of environmental or management experience." "It doesn't look like he's ever had a real job," the Madison Democrat said.
"According to his résumé, Deschane, 27, attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for two years, worked for two Republican lawmakers - then-Sens. David Zien and Cathy Stepp, now the natural resources secretary - and helped run a legislative and a losing congressional campaign. He held part-time posts with the Wisconsin Builders Association and the Wisconsin Business Council until being named to his first state gig earlier this year."
"Deschane's name does not appear on a list of job applicants with Walker's transition team, but the governor's office confirmed that Gilkes interviewed Deschane for a state job in December. A month later, Secretary David Ross, a Walker cabinet member, named Deschane the bureau director of board services, a job that paid $64,728 a year."
"Not long after, lawmakers approved the governor's plan to convert the Department of Commerce to a public-private hybrid in charge of attracting and retaining businesses, with its regulatory and environmental functions being moved to other agencies. Commerce Secretary Paul Jadin then appointed Deschane to his new post there to oversee the changes....The move meant a pay raise of more than $16,500 a year for Deschane, even though he had put in only a couple of months with the state."
"His father is Jerry Deschane, executive vice president and longtime lobbyist for the Madison-based Wisconsin Builders Association, which bet big on Walker during last year's governor's race...Total donations: $121,652."
The job is "overseeing environmental and regulatory matters and dozens of employees at the Department of Commerce."
"Hulsey said he was unimpressed with the younger Deschane's résumé, including his lack of environmental or management experience." "It doesn't look like he's ever had a real job," the Madison Democrat said.
"According to his résumé, Deschane, 27, attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for two years, worked for two Republican lawmakers - then-Sens. David Zien and Cathy Stepp, now the natural resources secretary - and helped run a legislative and a losing congressional campaign. He held part-time posts with the Wisconsin Builders Association and the Wisconsin Business Council until being named to his first state gig earlier this year."
"Deschane's name does not appear on a list of job applicants with Walker's transition team, but the governor's office confirmed that Gilkes interviewed Deschane for a state job in December. A month later, Secretary David Ross, a Walker cabinet member, named Deschane the bureau director of board services, a job that paid $64,728 a year."
"Not long after, lawmakers approved the governor's plan to convert the Department of Commerce to a public-private hybrid in charge of attracting and retaining businesses, with its regulatory and environmental functions being moved to other agencies. Commerce Secretary Paul Jadin then appointed Deschane to his new post there to oversee the changes....The move meant a pay raise of more than $16,500 a year for Deschane, even though he had put in only a couple of months with the state."
Astronomers May Have Witnessed a Star Torn Apart By a Black Hole
Bad Astronomy reports Astronomers may have witnessed a star torn apart by a black hole. "On March 28, 2011, NASA’s Swift satellite caught a flash of high-energy X-rays pouring in from deep space. Swift is designed to do this, and since its launch in 2004 has seen hundreds of such things, usually caused by stars exploding at the ends of their lives. But this time was hardly 'usual'. It didn’t see a star exploding as a supernova, it saw a star literally getting torn apart as it fell too close to a black hole!"
At it's peak, the light was a trillion times brighter than the sun! Though this burst had an unusual pattern to the light growing and fading.
So they think it's this happening, "What fits all the data is that of a star orbiting the center of the black hole. Perhaps it was on a safe orbit but got flung closer to the black hole after a close encounter with another star or gas cloud, or perhaps it started out close and over millions of years its orbit has brought it closer and closer to that monster at the galaxy’s heart."
At it's peak, the light was a trillion times brighter than the sun! Though this burst had an unusual pattern to the light growing and fading.
So they think it's this happening, "What fits all the data is that of a star orbiting the center of the black hole. Perhaps it was on a safe orbit but got flung closer to the black hole after a close encounter with another star or gas cloud, or perhaps it started out close and over millions of years its orbit has brought it closer and closer to that monster at the galaxy’s heart."
Headlines
I turned on my iPad this morning and there was a notification from the NY Times app that said "Connecticut's epic run ends with NCAA Championship" and I wondered what that meant. Did they win or was that their last stop as in Naima and Thia's run on American Idol ended last Wednesday?
I brought up Google News and realized that I have it customized perfectly in that no where on the page did it mention Butler or Connecticut.
I looked on my iPhone where I have the AP app doing news notifications and it said: "Connecticut defeats butler 53-41 to win NCAA men's basketball national championship". Isn't that so much clearer? NY Times, you need to get better, particularly if you want to charge $450 a year.
I brought up Google News and realized that I have it customized perfectly in that no where on the page did it mention Butler or Connecticut.
I looked on my iPhone where I have the AP app doing news notifications and it said: "Connecticut defeats butler 53-41 to win NCAA men's basketball national championship". Isn't that so much clearer? NY Times, you need to get better, particularly if you want to charge $450 a year.
Monday, April 04, 2011
Dopiest Constitutional Amendment of All Time?
Last week all 47 Senate Republicans signed on to a balanced budget amendment.
Bruce Bartlett calls it the Dopiest Constitutional Amendment of All Time. Not just because it's a bad idea, but because of "the incredibly slipshod and amateurish way it was drafted." Basically the math just doesn't work.
Ezra Klein called it The Worst Idea in Washington (which he followed with 3 more). "This isn’t just a Balanced Budget Amendment. It also includes a provision saying that tax increases would require a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress — so, it includes a provision making it harder to balance the budget — and another saying that total spending couldn’t exceed 18 percent of GDP. No allowances are made for recessions, though allowances are made for wars. Not a single year of the Bush administration would qualify as constitutional under this amendment. Nor would a single year of the Reagan administration. The Clinton administration would’ve had exactly two years in which it wasn’t in violation. Read that again: Every single Senate Republican has endorsed a constitutional amendment that would’ve made Ronald Reagan’s fiscal policy unconstitutional. That’s how far to the right the modern GOP has swung."
Bruce Bartlett calls it the Dopiest Constitutional Amendment of All Time. Not just because it's a bad idea, but because of "the incredibly slipshod and amateurish way it was drafted." Basically the math just doesn't work.
Ezra Klein called it The Worst Idea in Washington (which he followed with 3 more). "This isn’t just a Balanced Budget Amendment. It also includes a provision saying that tax increases would require a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress — so, it includes a provision making it harder to balance the budget — and another saying that total spending couldn’t exceed 18 percent of GDP. No allowances are made for recessions, though allowances are made for wars. Not a single year of the Bush administration would qualify as constitutional under this amendment. Nor would a single year of the Reagan administration. The Clinton administration would’ve had exactly two years in which it wasn’t in violation. Read that again: Every single Senate Republican has endorsed a constitutional amendment that would’ve made Ronald Reagan’s fiscal policy unconstitutional. That’s how far to the right the modern GOP has swung."
How Wachovia Laundered Billions from Mexico's Drug Gangs
The Guardian in a lengthy article explains How a big US bank laundered billions from Mexico's murderous drug gangs. "During a 22-month investigation by agents from the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and others, it emerged that the cocaine smugglers had bought the plane with money they had laundered through one of the biggest banks in the United States: Wachovia, now part of the giant Wells Fargo.
The authorities uncovered billions of dollars in wire transfers, traveller's cheques and cash shipments through Mexican exchanges into Wachovia accounts. Wachovia was put under immediate investigation for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering programme. Of special significance was that the period concerned began in 2004, which coincided with the first escalation of violence along the US-Mexico border that ignited the current drugs war.
Criminal proceedings were brought against Wachovia, though not against any individual, but the case never came to court. In March 2010, Wachovia settled the biggest action brought under the US bank secrecy act, through the US district court in Miami. Now that the year's 'deferred prosecution' has expired, the bank is in effect in the clear. It paid federal authorities $110m in forfeiture, for allowing transactions later proved to be connected to drug smuggling, and incurred a $50m fine for failing to monitor cash used to ship 22 tons of cocaine."
Read the whole thing to see how the whistleblower and individuals were dealt with. Nothing good here.
The authorities uncovered billions of dollars in wire transfers, traveller's cheques and cash shipments through Mexican exchanges into Wachovia accounts. Wachovia was put under immediate investigation for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering programme. Of special significance was that the period concerned began in 2004, which coincided with the first escalation of violence along the US-Mexico border that ignited the current drugs war.
Criminal proceedings were brought against Wachovia, though not against any individual, but the case never came to court. In March 2010, Wachovia settled the biggest action brought under the US bank secrecy act, through the US district court in Miami. Now that the year's 'deferred prosecution' has expired, the bank is in effect in the clear. It paid federal authorities $110m in forfeiture, for allowing transactions later proved to be connected to drug smuggling, and incurred a $50m fine for failing to monitor cash used to ship 22 tons of cocaine."
Read the whole thing to see how the whistleblower and individuals were dealt with. Nothing good here.
Goce Satellite Maps Gravity on Earth
The BBC reports Gravity satellite yields 'Potato Earth' view.
This is the result of the Goce satellite that is mapping gravity on earth. "It is a highly exaggerated rendering, but it neatly illustrates how the tug we feel from the mass of rock under our feet is not the same in every location. Gravity is strongest in yellow areas; it is weakest in blue ones."
"Chief among these new insights is a clearer view of how the oceans are moving and how they redistribute the heat from the Sun around the world - information that is paramount to climate studies. Those interested in earthquakes are also poring over the Goce results. The giant jolt that struck Japan this month and Chile last year occurred because huge masses of rock suddenly moved. Goce should reveal a three-dimensional view of what was going on inside the Earth."
"Professor Reiner Rummel, the chairman of the Goce scientific consortium, explained: "Usually, heights in the UK, say, are connected to one benchmark which is connected to mean sea-level, which might be measured at Liverpool, for example. The French do the same, the Australians do the same and the Chinese do the same - but mean sea-level differs from one country to the next. Now, with Goce, we can unify this so that we don't get the sort of surprises we had when they built the Channel Tunnel and discovered a half-metre offset between the UK and France."
This is the result of the Goce satellite that is mapping gravity on earth. "It is a highly exaggerated rendering, but it neatly illustrates how the tug we feel from the mass of rock under our feet is not the same in every location. Gravity is strongest in yellow areas; it is weakest in blue ones."
"Chief among these new insights is a clearer view of how the oceans are moving and how they redistribute the heat from the Sun around the world - information that is paramount to climate studies. Those interested in earthquakes are also poring over the Goce results. The giant jolt that struck Japan this month and Chile last year occurred because huge masses of rock suddenly moved. Goce should reveal a three-dimensional view of what was going on inside the Earth."
"Professor Reiner Rummel, the chairman of the Goce scientific consortium, explained: "Usually, heights in the UK, say, are connected to one benchmark which is connected to mean sea-level, which might be measured at Liverpool, for example. The French do the same, the Australians do the same and the Chinese do the same - but mean sea-level differs from one country to the next. Now, with Goce, we can unify this so that we don't get the sort of surprises we had when they built the Channel Tunnel and discovered a half-metre offset between the UK and France."
Paul Ryan's Plans for (Destroying) Medicare and Medicaid
Ezra Klein explains What Paul Ryan’s budget actually does. "Paul Ryan’s plan for Medicare and Paul Ryan’s plan for Medicaid rely on the same bait-and-switch: They use a reform to disguise a cut.
In Medicare’s case, the reform is privatization. The current Medicare program would be dissolved and the next generation of seniors would choose from Medicare-certified private plans on an exchange. But that wouldn’t save money. In fact, it would cost money. As the Congressional Budget Office has said (pdf), since Medicare is cheaper than private insurance, beneficiaries will see ‘higher premiums in the private market for a package of benefits similar to that currently provided by Medicare.’
In Medicaid’s case, the reform is block-granting. Right now, the federal government shares Medicaid costs with the states. That means their payments increase or decrease with Medicaid’s actual rate of spending. Under a block grant system, that’d stop. They’d simply give states a lump sum at the beginning of the year and that’d have to suffice. And if a recession hits and more people need Medicaid or a nasty flu descends and lots of disabled beneficiaries end up in the hospital with pneumonia? Too bad.
In both cases, what saves money is not the reform. It’s the cut. For Medicare, the cut is that the government wouldn’t cover the full cost of the private Medicare plans, and the portion they would cover is set to shrink as time goes on. In Medicaid, the block grants are set to increase more slowly than health-care costs, which is to say, the federal government will shoulder a smaller share of the costs than it currently does. The question for both plans is the same: What happens to beneficiaries?"
He also is Giving Paul Ryan Credit "for doing what he promised and taking on entitlements despite the possible [political] cost." Because, "they’re endorsing a plan that is the single least popular option for balancing the budget — below raising the retirement age, cutting defense spending or raising taxes on the rich."
Kevin Drum wrote Paul Ryan's Voucher Plan for Medicare "But I'll just say this in advance: I'm pretty sure that Ryan is going to loudly and relentlessly insist that his Medicare proposal isn't a voucher plan. I'm not sure why, but I assume that 'voucher' must have polled poorly in some recent Frank Luntz poll or something... You can like or dislike the plan all you want, but it's based on giving you money and then sending you into the private market to buy your own health insurance. That's a voucher, no matter how many times Ryan says it isn't."
Mathew Yglesias asks Will Paul Ryan Propose a Giant Tax Hike To Make Tax Cuts For the Rich Affordable? "But what Hulse doesn’t report on is Ryan’s thinking about tax reform. This is an important element of Ryan’s original ‘roadmap’ plan that’s never gotten the attention it deserves. But according to a Center for Tax Justice analysis (PDF), even though Ryan features large aggregate tax cuts, ninety percent of Americans would actually pay higher taxes under his plan:"
Update: And Krugman points out that "But what the GOP plans to offer is a plan that broadly resembles Medicare Advantage — a plan that not only failed to reduce costs, but actually ended up substantially increasing costs." This is the thing that Health Care Reform eliminated (because it was more expensive) and Republicans yelled that Democrats were cutting a $500 billion from Medicare. Well now Republicans are proposing to really cut Medicare. Hypocrites.
In Medicare’s case, the reform is privatization. The current Medicare program would be dissolved and the next generation of seniors would choose from Medicare-certified private plans on an exchange. But that wouldn’t save money. In fact, it would cost money. As the Congressional Budget Office has said (pdf), since Medicare is cheaper than private insurance, beneficiaries will see ‘higher premiums in the private market for a package of benefits similar to that currently provided by Medicare.’
In Medicaid’s case, the reform is block-granting. Right now, the federal government shares Medicaid costs with the states. That means their payments increase or decrease with Medicaid’s actual rate of spending. Under a block grant system, that’d stop. They’d simply give states a lump sum at the beginning of the year and that’d have to suffice. And if a recession hits and more people need Medicaid or a nasty flu descends and lots of disabled beneficiaries end up in the hospital with pneumonia? Too bad.
In both cases, what saves money is not the reform. It’s the cut. For Medicare, the cut is that the government wouldn’t cover the full cost of the private Medicare plans, and the portion they would cover is set to shrink as time goes on. In Medicaid, the block grants are set to increase more slowly than health-care costs, which is to say, the federal government will shoulder a smaller share of the costs than it currently does. The question for both plans is the same: What happens to beneficiaries?"
He also is Giving Paul Ryan Credit "for doing what he promised and taking on entitlements despite the possible [political] cost." Because, "they’re endorsing a plan that is the single least popular option for balancing the budget — below raising the retirement age, cutting defense spending or raising taxes on the rich."
Kevin Drum wrote Paul Ryan's Voucher Plan for Medicare "But I'll just say this in advance: I'm pretty sure that Ryan is going to loudly and relentlessly insist that his Medicare proposal isn't a voucher plan. I'm not sure why, but I assume that 'voucher' must have polled poorly in some recent Frank Luntz poll or something... You can like or dislike the plan all you want, but it's based on giving you money and then sending you into the private market to buy your own health insurance. That's a voucher, no matter how many times Ryan says it isn't."
Mathew Yglesias asks Will Paul Ryan Propose a Giant Tax Hike To Make Tax Cuts For the Rich Affordable? "But what Hulse doesn’t report on is Ryan’s thinking about tax reform. This is an important element of Ryan’s original ‘roadmap’ plan that’s never gotten the attention it deserves. But according to a Center for Tax Justice analysis (PDF), even though Ryan features large aggregate tax cuts, ninety percent of Americans would actually pay higher taxes under his plan:"
Update: And Krugman points out that "But what the GOP plans to offer is a plan that broadly resembles Medicare Advantage — a plan that not only failed to reduce costs, but actually ended up substantially increasing costs." This is the thing that Health Care Reform eliminated (because it was more expensive) and Republicans yelled that Democrats were cutting a $500 billion from Medicare. Well now Republicans are proposing to really cut Medicare. Hypocrites.
Despite Gulf Oil Spill, Rig Owner Executives Get Big Bonuses
CNN reported Despite Gulf oil spill, rig owner executives get big bonuses. "Declaring 2010 'the best year in safety performance in our company's history,' Transocean Ltd., owner of the Gulf of Mexico oil rig that exploded, killing 11 workers, has awarded its top executives hefty bonuses and raises, according to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission."
"Notwithstanding the tragic loss of life in the Gulf of Mexico, we achieved an exemplary statistical safety record as measured by our total recordable incident rate and total potential severity rate," the SEC statement reads. "As measured by these standards, we recorded the best year in safety performance in our Company's history."
I feel like I'm living in Orwell's 1984. This is just absurd.
"Notwithstanding the tragic loss of life in the Gulf of Mexico, we achieved an exemplary statistical safety record as measured by our total recordable incident rate and total potential severity rate," the SEC statement reads. "As measured by these standards, we recorded the best year in safety performance in our Company's history."
I feel like I'm living in Orwell's 1984. This is just absurd.
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Japan Quake Map
Japan Quake Map is a pretty amazing visualization of the March 11th quake and the various after shocks. Give it a few seconds to get going (the big quake hits at 14:46 JST). The size of the circle represents the magnitude of the quake, the color shows the depth.
Friday, April 01, 2011
Science fiction Growth-Chart
Boing Boing pointed to a Science fiction growth-chart that takes your kid from Tribble to Vader "This geeky dad made a growth-chart for his daughter that allows her to log her height against Star Wars and other science fiction franchise characters. It comes as a seven-foot-tall PDF, in case your kid happens to grow to Darth Vader heights."
Our Favorite April Fool’s Pranks, Japes and Tomfoolery
Here's Giga's collection of Our Favorite April Fool’s Pranks, Japes and Tomfoolery. I really like the PlayMobil Apple Store. Google's Gmail Motion is fun but I think I liked Google Docs Motion more and their Autocompleter job posting was fun (watch the video).
More Economists Debating
Mark Thoma collected various responses to a graph, fun read. About That Striking Graph from John Taylor.
Healthcare Articles from a Week Ago
On the first anniversary of the health care law, Ezra Klein did something the politicians failed to do, he explained what it is.
James Kwak wrote Incentives Don’t Work "One refrain you heard incessantly during the health care reform debate was that we have high health care costs because of overconsumption and we have overconsumption because people don’t bear a high enough share of their marginal health care costs, so the solution is to increase copays and deductibles. This is what Economics 101 would tell you: people respond to incentives. But Gawande discussed one large company that tried this year after year, but only saw their costs going up. The problem was that while most members responded to the higher copays and kept their costs more or less steady, the 5 percent of members who generated 60 percent of the costs behaved differently. Or, rather, they also reduced consumption (of doctor’s visits and prescription medications), but as a result they often had catastrophic outcomes. These were people with heart disease on cholesterol-lowering medications, and when they went off their medications they ended up in the hospital with heart attacks and then with congestive heart failure."
James Kwak wrote Incentives Don’t Work "One refrain you heard incessantly during the health care reform debate was that we have high health care costs because of overconsumption and we have overconsumption because people don’t bear a high enough share of their marginal health care costs, so the solution is to increase copays and deductibles. This is what Economics 101 would tell you: people respond to incentives. But Gawande discussed one large company that tried this year after year, but only saw their costs going up. The problem was that while most members responded to the higher copays and kept their costs more or less steady, the 5 percent of members who generated 60 percent of the costs behaved differently. Or, rather, they also reduced consumption (of doctor’s visits and prescription medications), but as a result they often had catastrophic outcomes. These were people with heart disease on cholesterol-lowering medications, and when they went off their medications they ended up in the hospital with heart attacks and then with congestive heart failure."
From the Earth and Moon (and Russia) With Love
From the Earth and Moon (and Russia) With Love "This stunning picture of the Moon and Earth was taken by Russia’s new Elektro-L spacecraft, a weather-forecasting satellite that launched in January 2011."
What Is Spencer Bachus’s Game?
Simon Johnson writes What Is Spencer Bachus’s Game?. He's going after Elizabeth Warren, but any article that begins this way is worth reading:
Representative Spencer Bachus, Republican chair of the House Financial Services Committee, famously remarked in December, “in Washington, the view is that the banks are to be regulated, and my view is that Washington and the regulators are there to serve the banks.” With regard to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), this apparently now implies that Mr. Bachus will use any means possible to change the topic away from substance – how banks treat their customers – to imagined procedural issues.
Representative Spencer Bachus, Republican chair of the House Financial Services Committee, famously remarked in December, “in Washington, the view is that the banks are to be regulated, and my view is that Washington and the regulators are there to serve the banks.” With regard to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), this apparently now implies that Mr. Bachus will use any means possible to change the topic away from substance – how banks treat their customers – to imagined procedural issues.
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