On the Health Care Debate

[read my previous post on this subject for more context]
Tea Party Rally (Again)
On Wednesday, I went on a 5 mile run to the Capitol and back to my apartment before my afternoon shift of work began.  On the west lawn of the Capitol was a fairly sizeable Tea Party rally that took up most of [...]

State of the Nation After 9/11/09

Oh man, where to begin.  I think I’ve been a little frustrated lately because I haven’t written in a while.  So let’s get it out there so I can move on.
National Tea Party, 9/12
This last Saturday was the National Tea Party Day in DC.  The Tea Party is a rallying cry for essentially Jeffersonian anti-big [...]

Labor Costs

One of the topics I want to study more about is what we’re all going to do in the future for work and jobs.  Part of the sharp upheaval of the 20th century of rapid economic development was that a stable career was not sustainable except for certain professions.  It is true in the US [...]

Health Care Ennui

Just a quick note on this; been busy settling in to my new place so I have a lot to say but not much time.
The health care proposal is grinding and painful to watch.  What’s worst about all of it is I think everyone knows that the system will still suck no matter what happens.  [...]

Surpluses and Shortages

I’m moving out of my Georgetown rowhouse and just started my job, so I’ve been a little busy and haven’t been able to write much.  That’s one reason Twitter is so great — I’ve been able to just send some quick tweets (the other reason it’s so great is its generativity (see Jonathan Zittrain) — [...]

We Want No Taxation, No Representation

Financial time bombs are no longer shocking to discover these days.  Collateralized debt obligations, the American auto industry, real estate, credit, struggling state government balance sheets, etc.
IRC Stupidity
Yesterday Obama gave a speech on how health care needs to be fixed immediately as costs are spiraling out of control.  The New Yorker just had a good [...]

Big, Interesting, Mysterious Pragmatic Problems

I’ve just finished a master’s program full of amazing classmates seeking policy solutions to some of the toughest problems the US and international institutions have to currently deal with.  For my part, I deeply love to spend a lot of my recreational thinking time searching for gaps in solutions to problems — entrepreneurial thinking — [...]

Fear in My 31st Year

The economic numbers are getting bad, worldwide. The IMF predicts almost stagnation for this year in terms of worldwide growth. Unemployment numbers in the US came out at 7.6% this morning, much lower than unofficial estimates at around 14%ish. The newest Economist cover jokes about the return of protectionism by showing a [...]

The Commons as the Missing Piece?

There’s some really fascinating reading out there about what’s going to happen next.
The financial crisis and American imperial overreach has prompted some interesting discussion of the Zakarian post-American world, and whether the US will continue to be the clear hegemon in a multipolar world or just a bruised hegemon that needs to collect itself for [...]

Mash-Up Culture is Still Young

A buddy of mine on IRC posted a YouTube video that mashes up (a phrase meaning to mix up different sources of music and video and other media into one product) drum n’ bass (dnb) music with footage from church sermons with people dancing and being overcome by religious experience and priests giving emotional sermons.  [...]