For those interested in the numbers, the Mega Millions jackpot stands at $540 million. That's the estimated nominal value of the annuity payout over 25 years (26 payments, the first one is immediate and the rest are at the end of the year). That annunity is calculated based on the current cash prize pool of $389 million. If you won that cash prize, the federal government's … [Read more...] about Mega Millions Breakeven?
Archives for March 2012
Krugman’s Silly Stand
Paul Krugman has a strange take on the Stand Your Ground law: Florida's now-infamous Stand Your Ground law, which lets you shoot someone you consider threatening without facing arrest, let alone prosecution, sounds crazy -- and it is. Florida's Stand Your Ground law may or may not be crazy -- the devil is in the details -- but Krugman's description of it misses by a mile. The … [Read more...] about Krugman’s Silly Stand
Take Off the Hoodie!
I'm sure you've all heard that Geraldo Rivera has diagnosed the problem in the Trevon Martin shoooting: He wore a hoodie! Geraldo's case is, well, not entirely insane. People do react to the symbols you wear. Ask any ex-hippie from the '60's if he was harassed about his long hair. That's not an entirely crazy response to long hair either: Hippies wore long hair as a statement, … [Read more...] about Take Off the Hoodie!
And Now Some News From the Alabama Judicial Races
Imagine how awesome it must be to live in Alabama, where voters get to choose their next Chief Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court. On the one hand, there's the Republican candidate, Roy Moore. He had the job before, at least until a few years ago when he was kicked off the bench. He's the judge who insisted on having a copy of the Ten Commandments displayed in his … [Read more...] about And Now Some News From the Alabama Judicial Races
I Feel a Bit Funny About This
Today I did something that probably would have disappointed my father if he were still alive: I voted in the Republican primary. My father was a yellow dog Democrat. Oh, there were a few Democrats he wouldn't vote for -- such as Tip O'Neill, whom he considered corrupt -- but he would never have voted for a Republican. In his declining years, he hated George W. Bush most of all. … [Read more...] about I Feel a Bit Funny About This