Nice to see that my concerns about R.E.A.C.T. are echoed by at least one professional blogger. Reading many of the comments of the linked post, it seems pretty clear that people are missing the point. There is an issue here that is independent of Apple, Gizmodo, stealing phones, trafficking in stolen phones, shield laws, and any other [...]
Gruber asks: What’s the counter-argument? That REACT should never investigate any crime against one of the companies on its steering committee? What company would sign up for that? My inbox is chockablock with messages from those who think Apple initiated this. That can’t happen. The counter-argument is that Apple could threaten to withdraw material support [...]
This whole process has been covered in great detail elsewhere, and beyond microblogging on Twitter just to combine my voice with the masses in support of reform efforts, I don’t have anything else to add. I will say that the MVPs for the whole process should probably go to Senator John Kerry (for figuring out [...]
I have a bit of a soft spot for the “Keep Austin Weird” campaign. What can I say? I’m a sucker for loose and mysterious confederations of local people campaigning under a banner of weirdness. But that sort of begs the question: who’s turning Austin normal? I came across one answer as I was reading [...]
Once I get my paperwork in order, I’ll be an official member of graduate student assembly. Though I’ve committed to avoiding politics on this blog, I’m going to make an exception for the issues tackled by the GSA. I was definitely not a student government type in my previous iterations as a student, but having [...]
When I was growing up my parents went through some lengths to make sure that I was well-rounded. The term well-rounded seemed to signify a kind of suburban trivium of sports, music, and various other school activities, though upon repetition, lost any kind of original meaning and because something more like an abstract concept — [...]
What about the New York Times Op-Ed page turns conservatives into blithering idiots? A movie review? Really? Healthcare, recession, unemployment, and two overseas conflicts and this is what Douthat chooses to write about? Telling I suppose, in its own peculiar way. UPDATE: The column seems well received elsewhere. I don’t necessarily agree with these. For [...]
If I were a senior enjoying the benefits of a big government run single payer health care system, I would not be protesting against the president’s health care reform agenda. Presumably, a lot of what Medicare provides is mandated by law, and not under the discretionary authority of the executive branch, but as we saw [...]
I don’t have anything to add to the debate, which seems to have died down quite a bit. I will say that I’m puzzled by the apparent power dynamics of the entire episode. Presumably the Cambridge Police Department answers to some sort of civil authority, and when an officer wrongly arrests a prominent (and well [...]
I was pleased to find plenty of convincing responses to this piece on health care reform. The only thing I’d add is that a lot of debate about health care seems to involve arguments against approaches that are not actually being considered. You can write a screed against a big single-payer, government run program, but [...]