Jack begins the week by replaying his pointless security clearance complaints: Meanwhile, the many former intelligence officers that signed a letter of protest against the President’s pulling of Brennan’s security clearance have nicely made Trump’s point. Leave the government, lose security clearance. Employ an expedited procedure to restore it if an individual is again … [Read more...] about Jack Marshall Watch 2018-08-27
Love and Shipping Management
The other day I signed up for UPS My Choice, which will track incoming packages sent to my address. It can display a calendar of deliveries and send me alerts on my phone. I can also waive signing requirements or ask UPS to hold packages for pick up. I buy a lot of stuff online, and this sounded pretty great.As part of the signup process, I could give UPS the names of other … [Read more...] about Love and Shipping Management
Why I Can’t Enjoy the Cohen and Manafort News
I'm not a Trump fan, so I really enjoy it when Trump is having a bad day, but there are things about the convictions of Cohen and Manafort that bother me.Political campaigns are mostly free speech, which should be well-protected by the First Amendment, but campaign finance laws attempt to control the money that pays for producing or disseminating this speech. This requires … [Read more...] about Why I Can’t Enjoy the Cohen and Manafort News
Jack Marshall Watch 2018-08-20
Reading Jack Marshall's Ethics Alarms is like picking at a scab: I know it's going to hurt, but I can't stop doing it. Jack's blogging output is far greater than mine, so I don't have time to post a response every time I disagree with something he says. I've been leaving comments on his blog, but getting into arguments there uses up time I should probably spend writing for my … [Read more...] about Jack Marshall Watch 2018-08-20
No, a Conservative Think-Tank Did Not Say Single-Payer Saves Money
I've seen a few stories and tweets saying that a conservative think-tank accidentally proved that single-payer healthcare will save Americans a lot of money. They're talking about a working paper released by Charles Blahous at the conservative Mercatus Center. The dumbest story I've found so far is from Matt Bruenig at Jacobin magazine: The US could insure 30 … [Read more...] about No, a Conservative Think-Tank Did Not Say Single-Payer Saves Money