Internal Monologue

One of the great mysteries of Washington DC these days is why Democrats spend so much time negotiating with Republicans. I can understand negotiating with them if it gets some of them to vote for a bill, but that hasn't been happening. So why bother? Or why keep the Republican compromises in the bill once it's clear Republicans won't vote for it? I understand the notion of wanting bi-partisan cover for a bill (though I think that notion is highly over-rated), but when it's clear that's not coming, why let them contaminate the bill? Do they actually think Republican input makes the legislation better? Ezra Klein wants to know the same thing, and speculates as to an answer: Republicans aren't just getting some technical amendments passed into these proposals. They're helping to design the entire architecture. They're securing long negotiation processes that give them much more input than your median committee Democrat. And then they're abandoning

If any Congressfolk happen to be reading this, please pass the Health Care Reform bill. Then make it even better by passing a robust public option that will help keep health insurance companies honest.

This pretty much sums up what's wrong with our government's food policy. The info is from a few years ago, but I suspect things have not changed much. Via .

This is awesome sauce (via Mad Latinist via Parijata): From Luke Surl Comics .

If this is true, I'm in big trouble: One of the things we’ve been studying the last year or two is mind-wandering - how happy people are when their minds wander away from the task they’re doing in the middle of the day. First of all, we found about half the time people’s minds are wandering. We also found we are happiest when we are thinking about what we are doing - almost regardless of what we are doing. Our studies suggest that having your mind wander is never good, never makes you more happy than you already are. My mind is almost always wandering. One of the few times it isn't is when I'm actually performing. Then I'm thinking about only what I'm doing. Maybe that's why I like it. I should probably cultivate greater focus.

Warning: I know almost nothing about macroeconomics. I'm kinda talking out of my ass here. There's been a lot of harping about the budget deficit recently. A lot of it comes from Republicans who didn't seem to mind deficit spending when George W. Bush was president during relatively stable economic times. But now that Obama is president and there's a major recession, suddenly they feel that we have to tighten our belts at this very instant or the economy will explode or something. Here's the thing: last time I checked (i.e. just now), the U. S. Government could borrow money at about 3.8% by selling 10-year T-bills. If you're willing to lock up your money for 30 years, they'll give you 4.7.%. This is pretty damn cheap. (Especially when you take into account inflation: because the future dollars the government uses to pay back the loan are worth less than the present dollars they receive, the real interest rate the government pays is actually lower.) If I w

For those of us who are getting scared of Sarah Palin, it's important to keep the following in mind: she's not very popular, and she's getting less popular. Here's The Washington Post : Although Palin is a tea party favorite, her potential as a presidential hopeful takes a severe hit in the survey. Fifty-five percent of Americans have unfavorable views of her, while the percentage holding favorable views has dipped to 37, a new low in Post-ABC polling. There is a growing sense that the former Alaska governor is not qualified to serve as president, with more than seven in 10 Americans now saying she is unqualified, up from 60 percent in a November survey. Even among Republicans, a majority now say Palin lacks the qualifications necessary for the White House. Palin has lost ground among conservative Republicans, who would be crucial to her hopes if she seeks the party's presidential nomination in 2012. Forty-five percent of conservatives now consider her as qualifie