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
Carbon Dividend/Carbon Tax
I've fallen behind on my blog reading, so I missed Greg Laden's post a few days ago in which he tries to argue that carbon taxes aren't really taxes. Actually, he seems to prefer to call them a "carbon dividend," which is apparently the trendy new name for this idea. I googled and found this page at the Citizens Climate Lobby which explains it. It's basically a carbon tax -- … [Read more...] about Carbon Dividend/Carbon Tax