Liz Cheney gives the finger to her constituents

The elite-born Liz Cheney purportedly represents the interests of voters in Wyoming. Back in July, she stated that investigating the January 6 insurrection might be “the most important thing I ever do” and, therefore, was presumably devoting maximum effort to this project. Her … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

A friend’s teenager learns about the American legal system

A recent chat group discussion: [18-year-old son] got off his second speeding ticket. Had an attorney. His friend has two tickets and got off neither. He learned a valuable lesson. That the Justice system is best if you have money.That lesson does not apply in family court. Not … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

A friend’s teenager learns about the American legal system

A recent chat group discussion: [18-year-old son] got off his second speeding ticket. Had an attorney. His friend has two tickets and got off neither. He learned a valuable lesson. That the Justice system is best if you have money.That lesson does not apply in family court. Not … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

How will Earth’s climate be affected by the Inflation Reduction Act?

“Biden signs sweeping climate, health care, tax bill into law” (state-sponsored NPR): President Biden signed Democrats’ hallmark spending bill into law on Tuesday… The sweeping bill allocates more than $300 billion to be invested in energy and climate reform. It’s the largest fe … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

How will Earth’s climate be affected by the Inflation Reduction Act?

“Biden signs sweeping climate, health care, tax bill into law” (state-sponsored NPR): President Biden signed Democrats’ hallmark spending bill into law on Tuesday… The sweeping bill allocates more than $300 billion to be invested in energy and climate reform. It’s the largest fe … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Inflation is an emergency so I will start cutting back in 2026

“Passage of Inflation Reduction Act gives Medicare historic new powers over drug prices” (CNBC, August 12) is a headline that matches my understanding of the Inflation Reduction Act that addresses the emergency situation facing Americans. The Federal government will no longer nec … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Inflation is an emergency so I will start cutting back in 2026

“Passage of Inflation Reduction Act gives Medicare historic new powers over drug prices” (CNBC, August 12) is a headline that matches my understanding of the Inflation Reduction Act that addresses the emergency situation facing Americans. The Federal government will no longer nec … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

When will Governor Abbott send buses full of migrants to Atherton, Californa?

“Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his,” said Ronald Reagan. I wonder if there is something similar going on with low-skill immigration. It was a minor, but certainly manageable, problem when … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

When will Governor Abbott send buses full of migrants to Atherton, Californa?

“Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his,” said Ronald Reagan. I wonder if there is something similar going on with low-skill immigration. It was a minor, but certainly manageable, problem when … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

The Pfizer CEO gets COVID-19 after four shots

Here’s a puzzler: I would like to let you know that I have tested positive for #COVID19. I am thankful to have received four doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and I am feeling well while experiencing very mild symptoms. I am isolating and have started a course of Paxlovid.— … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Zillow’s inflation forecasts

From February 2022, when we were dumb enough to sign a contract to buy a house: The market will go up 23%. In April, when we were dumb enough to close on a house: The market has gone up a little and will go up 18.3 percent more. In June, Zillow is busy celebrating Pride M … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Zillow’s inflation forecasts

From February 2022, when we were dumb enough to sign a contract to buy a house: The market will go up 23%. In April, when we were dumb enough to close on a house: The market has gone up a little and will go up 18.3 percent more. In June, Zillow is busy celebrating Pride M … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

The laptop class migrates from chronic Lyme to Long COVID

“Willed Helplessness Is the American Condition” (The Atlantic, August 4, 2022, by Meghan O’Rourke, the editor of The Yale Review): If a pandemic is a lens onto how we understand our moral responsibility to the community, this moment of risk discourse is revealing that we don’t c … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

The laptop class migrates from chronic Lyme to Long COVID

“Willed Helplessness Is the American Condition” (The Atlantic, August 4, 2022, by Meghan O’Rourke, the editor of The Yale Review): If a pandemic is a lens onto how we understand our moral responsibility to the community, this moment of risk discourse is revealing that we don’t c … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Why was Hadi Matar wearing a mask at his arraignment?

A photo from “Hadi Matar, suspect in Salman Rushdie stabbing, pleads not guilty to attempted murder, assault” (New York Post): The article gives some additional detail regarding this attendee of a mostly peaceful literary event: Hadi Matar, 24, was charged with attempted murd … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Why was Hadi Matar wearing a mask at his arraignment?

A photo from “Hadi Matar, suspect in Salman Rushdie stabbing, pleads not guilty to attempted murder, assault” (New York Post): The article gives some additional detail regarding this attendee of a mostly peaceful literary event: Hadi Matar, 24, was charged with attempted murd … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

NASA at Oshkosh

I hate to be the person who says that government should be smaller except when it comes to spending on his/her/zir/their personal passion. On the other hand, research is an area where Econ 101 says that companies will inevitably underinvest and, therefore, society will underinves … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Boeing’s plants the rainbow flag at Oshkosh

The shop in the Boeing pavilion at EAA AirVenture (“Oshkosh”): Did the programmers and system engineers who built runaway trim into the 737 MAX identify as 2SLGBTQQIA+? If so, will the family and friends of the 346 people who died in Ethiopia and Indonesia be interested i … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Boeing plants the rainbow flag at Oshkosh

The shop in the Boeing pavilion at EAA AirVenture (“Oshkosh”): Did the programmers and system engineers who built runaway trim into the 737 MAX identify as 2SLGBTQQIA+? If so, will the family and friends of the 346 people who died in Ethiopia and Indonesia be interested i … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Inflation Reduction Act already working

From Stuart, Florida yesterday: Time to get the pavement-melting SUV? | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

United Airlines at Oshkosh

First time at the Oshkosh airshow for United Airlines. Their senior captains did some yanking and banking in a 777 in front of the crowd. The most frightening maneuver was approaching the crowd (west side of the runway) from the east in a dive and then climbing over the crowd. So … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

United Airlines at Oshkosh

First time at the Oshkosh airshow for United Airlines. Their senior captains did some yanking and banking in a 777 in front of the crowd. The most frightening maneuver was approaching the crowd (west side of the runway) from the east in a dive and then climbing over the crowd. So … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Does Science say that Djokovic can compete in the U.S. Open?

Science (as embodied in the CDC) now says that filthy deplorable germ-spreading unvaccinated people and clean virtuous vaccinated people should be treated the same with respect to coronapanic (see story from state-sponsored media below). Will Novak Djokovic then be allowed to pla … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

The sacred world of 2SLGBTQQIA+

On the front door of a restaurant in Indianapolis: (Rainbow flag over “This is a Sacred Space.”) I get pushback from teens when I casually refer to Rainbow Flagism as a religion. But if it is not a religion, how does the rainbow flag make a space sacred? For reference, from … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

The sacred world of 2SLGBTQQIA+

On the front door of a restaurant in Indianapolis: (Rainbow flag over “This is a Sacred Space.”) I get pushback from teens when I casually refer to Rainbow Flagism as a religion. But if it is not a religion, how does the rainbow flag make a space sacred? For reference, from … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

One day in Green Bay, Wisconsin

If your mind and feet are burned out during a week of EAA AirVenture, one idea is to take a day off in Green Bay, Wisconsin, which is 45 minutes northeast. The Green Bay Packers have an interesting museum and do tours of their stadium: Right next door is Titletown, a paradise … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

One day in Green Bay, Wisconsin

If your mind and feet are burned out during a week of EAA AirVenture, one idea is to take a day off in Green Bay, Wisconsin, which is 45 minutes northeast. The Green Bay Packers have an interesting museum and do tours of their stadium: Right next door is Titletown, a paradise … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Inflation of 0 percent reported as inflation of 8.5 percent

Subhead from the newspaper of record today, “The Consumer Price Index climbed 8.5 percent in July, a bigger slowdown than expected, but inflation may remain uncomfortably high for some time.” Let’s dig into the article: The Consumer Price Index climbed 8.5 percent in the year th … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Inflation of 0 percent reported as inflation of 8.5 percent

Subhead from the newspaper of record today, “The Consumer Price Index climbed 8.5 percent in July, a bigger slowdown than expected, but inflation may remain uncomfortably high for some time.” Let’s dig into the article: The Consumer Price Index climbed 8.5 percent in the year th … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Pretending to work from home is not very productive

One of the enduring mysteries of coronapanic is how the economy stayed so apparently healthy for so long. Unless gathering people together in an office was worthless, people working from home in 2020/2021 should not have been as productive as they had been in 2019. Unless educati … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Glacial pace of innovation in non-electric aviation slows due to coronapanic

Certified fossil fuel-powered aviation has been notable for the slow pace of innovation. As the world of the consumer has been transformed, the typical aircraft flying is a refined version of what pilots operated during World War II. Through 2019, it would not have been unfair to … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Glacial pace of innovation in non-electric aviation slows due to coronapanic

Certified fossil fuel-powered aviation has been notable for the slow pace of innovation. As the world of the consumer has been transformed, the typical aircraft flying is a refined version of what pilots operated during World War II. Through 2019, it would not have been unfair to … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Maskachusetts rejects Science (90 percent refuse vaccines for children under 5)

Despite being nearly 100 percent Deplorable-free (as commenter Angry Australian notes, the handful of “rightwing nutjobs” who did not appreciate the healing powers of essential marijuana, lockdown orders, forced masking, and vaccination papers checks have likely moved away from t … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Maskachusetts rejects Science (90 percent refuse vaccines for children under 5)

Despite being nearly 100 percent Deplorable-free (as commenter Angry Australian notes, the handful of “rightwing nutjobs” who did not appreciate the healing powers of essential marijuana, lockdown orders, forced masking, and vaccination papers checks have likely moved away from t … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Team USA’s new airplane at Oshkosh

Delta Airlines brought its “Team USA” airplane to Oshkosh this year. Our elite athletes will travel in style to the next few Olympics. Where do the proud Americans who built this machine live? Toulouse, France. It’s an Airbus A330. Delta even flew it during an afternoon a … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Team USA’s new airplane at Oshkosh

Delta Airlines brought its “Team USA” airplane to Oshkosh this year. Our elite athletes will travel in style to the next few Olympics. Where do the proud Americans who built this machine live? Toulouse, France. It’s an Airbus A330. Delta even flew it during an afternoon a … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Progressives in Maine want U.S. to admit more low-skill migrants…

…. who will live somewhere other than in Maine. “Maine’s open door for refugees meets a housing shortage” (Christian Science Monitor): Yet the city [Portland, Maine] that has been one of the most benevolent in America toward outsiders now finds itself with 1,200 newcomers, most … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Progressives in Maine want U.S. to admit more low-skill migrants…

…. who will live somewhere other than in Maine. “Maine’s open door for refugees meets a housing shortage” (Christian Science Monitor): Yet the city [Portland, Maine] that has been one of the most benevolent in America toward outsiders now finds itself with 1,200 newcomers, most … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Americans still prefer not to work, but that preference varies from state to state

While celebrating the fact that the U.S. economy has added back some jobs to pre-coronapanic levels, not bothering to adjust for the millions of additional folks who now occupy the United States, e.g., via immigration, the New York Times is forced to add the following: In a subs … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Americans still prefer not to work, but that preference varies from state to state

While celebrating the fact that the U.S. economy has added back some jobs to pre-coronapanic levels, not bothering to adjust for the millions of additional folks who now occupy the United States, e.g., via immigration, the New York Times is forced to add the following: In a subs … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Is the CDC running a bathhouse?

Everything that the CDC says or does is, by definition, scientific. Science requires that hypotheses be tested and data gathered. The CDC is now offering scientific advice on how to have sex in group settings without contracting monkeypox. Ergo, the CDC must either be running its … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Current prices at CVS and Walgreens

Our AirBnB didn’t come with shampoo or soap, so we hit the Walgreens in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. All of the travel items that I expected to cost $0.99 were $2.99 or more. Inflation? It then occurred to me that I had seen these prices back around 2018. The current Walgreens/CVS pric … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Welcoming migrants in our nation’s capital

“G.O.P. Governors Cause Havoc by Busing Migrants to East Coast” (New York Times, yesterday): Lever Alejos arrived in the nation’s capital last week on a bus with dozens of fellow Venezuelans who had journeyed more than 1,300 miles from their broken country to the United States. … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Cost of luxury high-rise construction in Florida

A neighbor is a refugee from the Land of Lockdown (Illinois) and is a partner in a real estate development company. “We decided to stop doing projects in Chicago because so many people were leaving,” he explained. He’s finishing a sold-out project of $4 million beachfront condos … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Should we not pay rent due to the COVID-19 public health emergency…

… or should we instead not pay rent due to “Biden administration declares the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency” (CNN): The declaration follows the World Health Organization announcement last month that monkeypox is a public health emergency of international concern. … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Could Novak Djokovic get into the U.S. by saying that he is going to visit a bathhouse?

“Djokovic likely to miss U.S. Open over COVID-19 vaccine status” (Reuters): U.S. Open organisers also said that while they do not have a vaccination mandate in place for players, they will respect the U.S. government’s position regarding travel into the country for unvaccinated … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Could Novak Djokovic get into the U.S. by saying that he is going to visit a bathhouse?

“Djokovic likely to miss U.S. Open over COVID-19 vaccine status” (Reuters): U.S. Open organisers also said that while they do not have a vaccination mandate in place for players, they will respect the U.S. government’s position regarding travel into the country for unvaccinated … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago

Are there Ukrainian refugees in your neighborhood?

Our neighborhood, which has no “immigrants welcome” signs, is now home to at least two groups of Ukrainian refugees (mother-child in both cases). That’s out of a sample of about 200 houses and apartments. Our former neighborhood, in Lincoln, Massachusetts, has more than 2,000 ho … | Continue reading


@philip.greenspun.com | 2 years ago