The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    Donal's picture

    Can you write about the future?

    By Donal on Thu, 09/08/2011 - 8:26pm | Arts & Entertainment

     

    In Efficiency is the Solution, Tom Whipple predicts the future by describing what we are already seeing: 
     
    For the immediate future, however, much of what life in the future will be like will depend on the technologies that will enable civilization to continue while using only a fraction of the energy that is consumed today and to develop the technology to produce large quantities of cheaper renewable fuels. The manner in which our fossil fuels are being used is so wasteful of the energy contained in fossil fuels that major reductions can be made with little real impact on the activities that consume energy. The prime examples of this waste is the internal combustion engine which uses only 14 percent of its fuel to turn the wheels while wasting most of the rest. Huge central power plants waste most of the energy that devours coal and natural gas, and produce much waste heat that is dumped into the air or local water bodies or in line losses. Without the massive waste, the fossil fuel age could last a lot longer.
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    Arts & Entertainment
    Michael Wolraich's picture

    Open Thread on Obama's Speech

    By Michael Wolraich on Thu, 09/08/2011 - 8:09pm | Politics

    You know that you want it...

    My immediate take:

    1. Right tone. Making America "great again" has resonance (albeit slightly backhanded). Obama staked out the optimistic position in contrast with Republicans' pessimism--generally a good strategy.

    2. Clarity, at least relative to the cloudiness of his past 2.5 years. He pretty clearly delineated the ideological differences.

    Topics: 
    Politics
    Michael Maiello's picture

    Capitalists Starting To See The Truth

    By Michael Maiello on Thu, 09/08/2011 - 8:59am | Politics

    Investor Jeremy Grantham, well known for years and around the world (he manages more than $100 billion) has recently come around to the idea that some mortgage debt forgiveness might be necessary.  Given that Grantham invests in bonds from time to time, this is amazing stuff.  Bond investors hate the idea of debt forgiveness.  They usually prefer "debt repayment at all costs, or I get to take your stuff."  I recommend reading Grantham's latest letter to clients, which you can find here, or perhaps my

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    Politics
    Doctor Cleveland's picture

    Comic-Con and the GOP Primaries

    By Doctor Cleveland on Wed, 09/07/2011 - 9:21pm | Politics, Media

    I spent a lot of the summer driving U-Haul trucks instead of blogging, so I didn't keep up with the early Republican jostling. Tonight, I'm going to do something useful with my time, so watching the Republican debate is out of the question. But the New York Times published a great piece about the Republican's political situation three months back. It simply didn't use the words "republican" or politics. It was a piece about movie studios and Comic Con.

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    Michael Wolraich's picture

    Live Blogging Conservatives Gone Wild

    By Michael Wolraich on Wed, 09/07/2011 - 8:59pm | Politics

    Slightly late and exceedingly risky but why the heck not.

    Topics: 
    Politics
    Donal's picture

    Food for Fools

    By Donal on Wed, 09/07/2011 - 1:11pm | Food & Drink



    In the Wall Street Journal article, Can the World Still Feed Itself?, Austrian Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman and former CEO of Nestlé, portrays genetically-modified (GMO or GM) crops as the hero, and food-for-fuel as the villain in the effort to feed six, seven, or even nine billion planetizens:
     

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    Food & Drink
    Ramona's picture

    Toxic Politics will be the Death of Us Yet

    By Ramona on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 5:39pm | Politics
     
    While Democrats temporized, or even dismissed the fears of the white working class as racist or nativist, Republicans went to work. To be sure, the business wing of the Republican Party consists of the most energetic outsourcers, wage cutters and hirers of sub-minimum wage immigrant labor to be found anywhere on the globe.
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    Politics
    Donal's picture

    That damned middle class again

    By Donal on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 11:16am | Politics

    In his September 3, 2011 NY times OpEd, The Limping Middle Class, Robert Reich continues to make a now-familiar argument that only John and Jane Doe can prop up our floundering economy.
     

    When so much income goes to the top, the middle class doesn’t have enough purchasing power to keep the economy going without sinking ever more deeply into debt — which, as we’ve seen, ends badly. An economy so dependent on the spending of a few is also prone to great booms and busts. The rich splurge and speculate when their savings are doing well. But when the values of their assets tumble, they pull back. That can lead to wild gyrations. Sound familiar?
    Topics: 
    Politics
    Doctor Cleveland's picture

    Fixing College Football: Pay the Kids, or Don't

    By Doctor Cleveland on Mon, 09/05/2011 - 1:36pm | Social Justice, Personal, Media

    It's college football season, and that means corruption and scandal. (Margaret Soltan at University Diaries blogs superbly and tirelessly about that corruption.) We've actually gotten to the point where Sports Illustrated, not the Chronicle of Higher Education but Sports Illustrated, has called for a major university football team to be disbanded.

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    Social Justice
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