I've been following some of the discussions about the prosecutorial conduct that may have lead to Aaron Swartz's suicide, but I haven't posted anything about it because it didn't seem all that unusual, except for the suicide, which is not really all that unusual either. I didn't initially understand why so many people are heaping verbal abuse on US Attorney Carmen Ortiz for … [Read more...] about Abusing US Attorney Carmen Ortiz
Addicted to Harlotry — Part 3: Capital Investment
In Part 1, I introduced the concept of rational addiction and argued that failure to account for it causes us to underestimate the benefits that other people receive from certain activities, which may lead us to believe that there is something unnaturally wrong about their high levels of consumption.Then in Part 2, I explored the ideas of a supply-side version of rational … [Read more...] about Addicted to Harlotry — Part 3: Capital Investment
Zero Dark Thirty – Short Review
Zero Dark Thirty is a terrific spy thriller.Almost nobody mentions that. Everybody talks about the controversial issues raised by Catherine Bigelow's new movie about the hunt for Osama bin Laden -- the use of torture, the slam at criminal defense lawyers -- but if you can set aside your differences with the politics of the characters (and by extension, the filmmakers) Zero … [Read more...] about Zero Dark Thirty – Short Review
The Harlot’s Addiction — Part 2: Difficult Jobs
In Part 1, I introduced the concept of rational addiction and speculated that failure to account for it causes us to underestimate the benefits that other people receive from certain activities, which leads us to believe that there is something unnaturally wrong about their high levels of consumption.A recent example of this is NRA President Wayne LaPierre's diatribe … [Read more...] about The Harlot’s Addiction — Part 2: Difficult Jobs
Certificate of Greed
How screwed-up is the economics of our healthcare system? So crazy that stuff like this happens all the time: The proposal by Vista Health System to build a $131 million hospital in Lindenhurst would add more beds to an area that already has a substantial surplus, according to a report released today by the staff of the state health care facilities board.The plan by … [Read more...] about Certificate of Greed