2014 archive
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
While the cat’s away, the polite will play.
(snip)
They said a 15-year-old boy who lives at the home found a hidden key to the gun safe and was able to get to a handgun inside. The 15-year-old told police that the gun went off as he was putting it back in the gun safe.
Both parents were at work at the time of the shooting. Police said the 15-year-old had been told not to have friends over when the parents weren’t there.
An, in more news of the polite, the polite shoot first and ask questions later (Via Atrios):
Light Bloggery 0
Things to do.
“Pay for Performance” 0
Robert Reich doesn’t see it. A snippet:
On the other hand, what’s the worth to society of social workers who put in long and difficult hours dealing with patients suffering from mental illness or substance abuse? Probably higher than their average pay of $18.14 an hour, which translates into less than $38,000 a year.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Play with your toys, politely.
The pellet lodged in the 18-year-old’s stomach after his brother, 25, accidentally discharged an air rifle at their Honeysuckle Street home.
Just the Cost of Doing Business 0
Corporate America, where punishment is just another deductible expense
(snip)
In similar deals recently struck by the Justice Department with large U.S. banks, portions of the overall settlement amounts were designated as penalties, which banks aren’t allowed to write off.
But by law, banks can write off portions of their settlements that aren’t considered fines or penalties, such as payments to states affected by their alleged misconduct.
That means billions of dollars in Bank of America’s expected settlement could be tax-deductible.
Playing the Victim 0
In other news, George Smith points out that more and more caissons are rolling along.
Image via Bob Cesca’s Awesome Blog.
Email the Way It’s Meant To Be 0
I have lately been leaning my way around Mutt, a command line email client. It’s not my only email client–the one I use most is still Opera’s email client.
Mutt Inbox
I got there via a circuitous route. I want to improve my skills using vi and vim (“vi improved”). Vi or vim (sometimes both) are present in almost every Linux distribution and do not require a GUI to work.
On the Ground in Ferguson, Mo. 0
(Audio only. At times, the language gets emotional.)
If People Were Corporations . . . . 0
Catherine Rampell considers incorporating herself. A nugget:
Other goodies abound. On federal tax returns, individuals can deduct either the sales taxes they paid or their state income taxes, not both; for companies, these deductions are all-you-can-eat. If people were treated like companies, we could also start deducting the first dollar we spend on health care, rather than just the medical spending that exceeds 10 percent of our adjusted gross incomes.
Home-buying would also become more attractive. Right now there are limits to how much mortgage interest humans can deduct. But if you analogize your primary residence to a “corporate headquarters” and your vacation homes to “branch offices,” you can deduct the full interest on every McMansion you ever purchase.
“A Good Walk Spoiled” 0
Heh.
State police say 63-year-old Roger Lee Harris and 42-year-old Bryan Bandes were playing with three others at the Springdale Golf Course near Uniontown in Fayette County on Aug. 3. That’s when they began arguing about rules involving “casual water” — or puddles — after it rained.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Back over 300K.
(snip)
The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, increased to 295,750 from 293,750 in the prior week that was the lowest since 2006. Last week’s average is still well below the 318,700 mean so far this year.
Bloomberg’s “experts” were, predictably, wrong again. I don’t know why they even bother . . . .