Socialism and the Socialists it helps

Lane Kensworthy compares government handouts between the US and two lions of socialism, Sweden and Denmark, and finds that the handouts are similar but the beneficiaries likely aren't. A cliff notes in statistics:










Look out for an upcoming book on these issues from Lane Kenworthy as well.

Tune du jour

The Blues don't get much better than this head bobbing version of "Goin' Down Slow"

Pete Rose used a corked a corked bat

Pete Rose putting himself before the game of baseball and lying about it? Where have I heard this one before.

A few years back, Pete Rose addressed the corking rumors.

"Go up to Steve Wolter and get that 4192 bat," Rose said in 2004. "Take it to an examiner and see if there's any cork in it. I guarantee you there won't be.

"If somebody has a corked bat that has my name on it, bring it on down."

Rose has yet to respond to requests for comment.

But the story behind the bat is an interesting one. (From deadspin)

Where is the US stimulus?

Being more than devoured by the state and local governments. Government spending has been a net drag for the last two quarters.

From Ezra Klein:

Tune du jour

Still raining here.....

Tune du jour

Something in a rainy Sunday. A song that holds up amazingly well over a decade on.

World Cup of Chaos Part 1 of 2,134

World Cup in Africa during a global recession? I think our hopes outpaced the reality here. I really want to be wrong, but this isn't a great start.

Thousands of soccer fans stampeded outside a stadium Sunday before a World Cup warmup match between Nigeria and North Korea, leaving 10 people injured, including a policeman.

That number is at 14 by some accounts and will doubtlessly go up.

Monumental Upset: Porizkova on the depression of lost fame is an interesting read

I don't know why I even read it. OK, I do. The staying power of her once hotness. But her candor is to be commended.

Celebrities can't help being entitled. When you speak, the room goes quiet. Everyone wants to know every little thing about you. You are simply the most fascinating person ever to the admiring gazes around you every time you walk outside. How can you not buy into it? Especially if you did nothing much to earn your fame, like say, models, reality stars, and ousted mistresses. (The people who have earned their fame would have done whatever it is they do regardless of fame or money. These special and talented folks usually are also the ones to disdain fame, if not the money.)

I remember going to the funeral of a friend of mine who was a very famous makeup artist. Almost every famous woman he had made even more beautiful took turns to eulogize him. It took me a little while to realize they didn't so much eulogize him as they did themselves. There were a lot of cute, heartwarming, and delightful stories - about themselves. My friend was featured only in the background. I am by no means innocent in this entitlement myself. To this day, when someone taps my shoulder in a supermarket, I turn around with a pretend sigh and my hands ready to autograph, only to be asked to move so the person behind me can reach the tomato soup.

Mandatory (dated) photo of her:

No, Matt Drudge, you can't buy me a drink

Helen Thomas says something crazy (crazy anti-Semitic that is), and Drudge puts this picture up. It's not exactly a news item that Drudge is bending over backwards to drag Obama into this as if somehow he should not have appeared with an institution (for better or worse) of the White House press corp on their birthday just in case they say something nuts one day. Drudge is in a bit of downward spiral towards the lowest common denominator these days, no news there. But what makes this interesting is how willingly people accept this type of overt attempt at manipulation.

The bar pickup is a cliché at this point. Guy walks up to girl and tries through an awkward combo of humor, wit, and association with success indicators to essentially convince the girl that she should get with him. As any pickup artist will tell you, the key is to evoke an emotional response in the girl. And in most cases it's so transparent that it really doesn't do anything more than tell the girl, that yes, this dude is available. Women, the type that find themselves in this situation often, have a pretty good bullshit detection system. And culturally we hold women who haven't in somewhat lower regard. In films and television this scene centers on the question of "will she be dumb enough to follow for this self-interested overt grab?" We assume that only a sucker would fall for this and buy something they didn't already want. (Obviously if they like the guy before he opens his mouth this question is "will this idiot drop the ball?")

And yet, this is the same game that Drudge and others run all the time, and no one seems to be much put off by it. How is this type of overt attempt to evoke an emotional response or force an association any different than the unwanted advances of a pick up artist? No matter whether I agree or disagree with the sentiment being conveyed this way, I am automatically put off. And you should be too. Anyone trying to sell you something unsolicited should be distrusted until proven otherwise. Used car dealers, door to door salesmen, pick ups artists, Drudge and anyone else dragging unnecessary emotive elements into the conversation.

Good Reads

The Story Behind the Story

A fascinating look at who is filling the 24 hour news cycle. There is a lot of schadenfreude at the demise of the mainstream media with all its faults, but we may be cutting off our nose to spite our faces. If no one is getting paid to put out a quality news product, then who will fill the void? Those seeking to manipulate the story. If you think bias in the media was bad, wait until it's run by the unapologetically agenda driven.