On the whole, I find general-purpose pundits worse than useless. What do they know that makes me want their advice on anything? Some of the more specialized pundits occasionally provide me with useful information or analysis, but this is rare. One of my persistent fantasies -- for whatever it says about my fantasy life -- is to host a cable news talk show in which I sit at a barstool, identify some burning issue of the day, say that because I don't have the relevant information, I don't have an opinion on it -- and it's likely that you don't, and therefore shouldn't, either. Let's wait and see.
Probably wouldn't last long. Maybe I'd invite useless general-purpose pundits on and when they bloviate, I'd ask them if they have any actual information. That might make it more fun.
Back in the 80's, a lot of people, me included, thought more uniformity and predictability in sentencing was a good idea. Still do. But I, and others, underestimated the political incentives for outlandishly high mandatory minimum sentences. So now, with conspicuous exceptions, sentences aren't arbitrary or surprising, but they're generally too damn high.
Exactly. For all but the worst violent crimes, as a rule of thumb I'd say 5 years is more than enough, and usually a lot less. When Manafort was sentenced, to much predictable outrage, my position was that I'd like to live in a world where Manafort's sentence was appropriate, but I saw no reason that he should be the first person to get to live in that world.
My wife and I honeymooned in Spain in 1992. To our surprise, we found that in Seville pizza was popular and excellent. It was the thin-crust style. I don't know if that is still the case, but we hope to find out sometime soon.
It is hard to imagine that a soda jerk could sustain the apparent lifestyle portrayed in the cartoon -- though it is always heartening to see people who take pride in their ability to do their humble work well.
I'm tired of the NY-Chicago pizza wars. If someone put a gun to my head and said there was going to be only one kind of pizza in the world and it was my job to decide, sorry, Chicago, I go with New York. But nobody is making me do that. I enjoy Chicago-style pizza as a change of pace, and am glad it exists. Eat. Enjoy. It's not a zero-sum game.
I'm actually better with a gun, despite my rusty skills, than I ever was with a chainsaw. I routinely carry a pocket knife, Swiss Army folder with a two-inch blade, which, from a self-defense standpoint is better than nothing, but just barely. People sometimes think it's weird, but I find reason to use it for ordinary civilian purposes several times a week.
I own a couple of long guns, of the sort nobody worth taking seriously is interested in keeping sane, law-abiding people from having, and used to own a handgun, which I got rid of when license renewal came up because I had used it so little. Although where I now live has restrictions on guns (I probably couldn't get a carry permit if I wanted one), I grew up where gun ownership was no more interesting than chainsaw ownership. I don't miss the handgun (though I'm toying with the idea of getting licensed and getting one for largely recreational use), and, although I have lived in and have traveled daily through dodgy neighborhoods for decades at all hours, I have never been in a situation where I would have felt safer carrying a pistol.
The world does not work on Jaybird's schedule. It takes time to find things out, with sufficiently good sourcing for a responsible news outlet to publish. Just look at how Lawrence O'Donnell recently embarrassed himself and his network by rushing to tout an inadequately-sourced story, which may, ultimately, prove to be true. I had thought to give you a simple compliment, thinking you were a big enough person to point out the work being done, which you were skeptical would be done. I guess I was wrong.
Yeah. I don’t understand why CJ thought this would be a takedown.
Well, I'll have to take your word for what you say you don't understand. Including, for example, why you think it was supposed to be a "takedown" in the first place.
I must commend Jaybird for meticulously passing on the mainstream media's reporting as it uncovers things he was quite confident it could not be trusted to investigate.
You could certainly take that position. Many do, and some of those many even understand what they're talking about and have reasons they can articulate for their views. There's an entire industry devoted to criticizing Supreme Court decisions, but the thing is that unlike the participants in that industry, the Supreme Court speaks with authority, and, therefore, sets the terms of discussion within the industry. When the Supreme Court says something, that is, by definition, a "serious argument" for its position.
To be clear, nobody is saying that the welfare and regulatory state are unconstitutional, but rather than the Constitution relegates welfare spending and regulation of instrastate activities to the state governments. Is there really a serious argument that it does not?
Actually, lots of people say precisely what you say nobody says. And the "serious argument" that the current welfare and regulatory state is constitutional is over a century of Supreme Court decisions, which I recommend for light reading.
What did Luck actually know before the fans bought season tickets (or the team set up its draft board) that he should have made a decision about? If he knew then that he couldn't play, he would have said so. If he is anything like the competitor his entire football life suggests he is, he kept trying to get well and play. It became too much. That it didn't become apparent that his efforts would be futile until an inconvenient time is not his fault.
My wife, who grew up in NYC, went with relatives every year to the State Fair in Danbury, Connecticut. She thought it was The State Fair. When I told her about the New York State Fair, held annually in Syracuse, where I grew up, she was astonished to hear about it.
On “Making A Conversation Out of Talking Points”
On the whole, I find general-purpose pundits worse than useless. What do they know that makes me want their advice on anything? Some of the more specialized pundits occasionally provide me with useful information or analysis, but this is rare. One of my persistent fantasies -- for whatever it says about my fantasy life -- is to host a cable news talk show in which I sit at a barstool, identify some burning issue of the day, say that because I don't have the relevant information, I don't have an opinion on it -- and it's likely that you don't, and therefore shouldn't, either. Let's wait and see.
Probably wouldn't last long. Maybe I'd invite useless general-purpose pundits on and when they bloviate, I'd ask them if they have any actual information. That might make it more fun.
On “Joe Biden’s Right”
I used to think everyone ought to do 30 days just on general principles.
"
Back in the 80's, a lot of people, me included, thought more uniformity and predictability in sentencing was a good idea. Still do. But I, and others, underestimated the political incentives for outlandishly high mandatory minimum sentences. So now, with conspicuous exceptions, sentences aren't arbitrary or surprising, but they're generally too damn high.
"
Exactly. For all but the worst violent crimes, as a rule of thumb I'd say 5 years is more than enough, and usually a lot less. When Manafort was sentenced, to much predictable outrage, my position was that I'd like to live in a world where Manafort's sentence was appropriate, but I saw no reason that he should be the first person to get to live in that world.
On “The Democratic Debate: Houston Has Problems, Plans, and Candidates for President”
Yeah, the sarcasm was kind of hard to miss.
On “Pizza in Rome”
My wife and I honeymooned in Spain in 1992. To our surprise, we found that in Seville pizza was popular and excellent. It was the thin-crust style. I don't know if that is still the case, but we hope to find out sometime soon.
On “The Soda Clerk At Home”
It is hard to imagine that a soda jerk could sustain the apparent lifestyle portrayed in the cartoon -- though it is always heartening to see people who take pride in their ability to do their humble work well.
On “Call Me Dr….”
No, it's baseball season. Congratulations Doc. Can you post a link to the thing at some point?
On “When New York Pizza Became Better than Chicago Pizza”
I'm tired of the NY-Chicago pizza wars. If someone put a gun to my head and said there was going to be only one kind of pizza in the world and it was my job to decide, sorry, Chicago, I go with New York. But nobody is making me do that. I enjoy Chicago-style pizza as a change of pace, and am glad it exists. Eat. Enjoy. It's not a zero-sum game.
On “I Don’t Own a Gun”
I'm actually better with a gun, despite my rusty skills, than I ever was with a chainsaw. I routinely carry a pocket knife, Swiss Army folder with a two-inch blade, which, from a self-defense standpoint is better than nothing, but just barely. People sometimes think it's weird, but I find reason to use it for ordinary civilian purposes several times a week.
"
I own a couple of long guns, of the sort nobody worth taking seriously is interested in keeping sane, law-abiding people from having, and used to own a handgun, which I got rid of when license renewal came up because I had used it so little. Although where I now live has restrictions on guns (I probably couldn't get a carry permit if I wanted one), I grew up where gun ownership was no more interesting than chainsaw ownership. I don't miss the handgun (though I'm toying with the idea of getting licensed and getting one for largely recreational use), and, although I have lived in and have traveled daily through dodgy neighborhoods for decades at all hours, I have never been in a situation where I would have felt safer carrying a pistol.
On “Epstein Dead”
That's another way of putting it.
"
So you prefer speed and speculation to sourcing and responsibility. There's no accounting for taste, and no point disputing it.
"
The world does not work on Jaybird's schedule. It takes time to find things out, with sufficiently good sourcing for a responsible news outlet to publish. Just look at how Lawrence O'Donnell recently embarrassed himself and his network by rushing to tout an inadequately-sourced story, which may, ultimately, prove to be true. I had thought to give you a simple compliment, thinking you were a big enough person to point out the work being done, which you were skeptical would be done. I guess I was wrong.
"
Yeah. I don’t understand why CJ thought this would be a takedown.
Well, I'll have to take your word for what you say you don't understand. Including, for example, why you think it was supposed to be a "takedown" in the first place.
"
I must commend Jaybird for meticulously passing on the mainstream media's reporting as it uncovers things he was quite confident it could not be trusted to investigate.
On “A New Group Puts “Principles First.””
That may, syntactically, be an English sentence, but doesn't communicate any discernible meaning.
"
You could certainly take that position. Many do, and some of those many even understand what they're talking about and have reasons they can articulate for their views. There's an entire industry devoted to criticizing Supreme Court decisions, but the thing is that unlike the participants in that industry, the Supreme Court speaks with authority, and, therefore, sets the terms of discussion within the industry. When the Supreme Court says something, that is, by definition, a "serious argument" for its position.
"
To be clear, nobody is saying that the welfare and regulatory state are unconstitutional, but rather than the Constitution relegates welfare spending and regulation of instrastate activities to the state governments. Is there really a serious argument that it does not?
Actually, lots of people say precisely what you say nobody says. And the "serious argument" that the current welfare and regulatory state is constitutional is over a century of Supreme Court decisions, which I recommend for light reading.
On “Joe Biden’s ’68 Throwback Special”
No one born in the 1950's will likely ever be President. No one born in the 1930's was.
"
Get off of my lawn.
On “The Perspective of Luck, or Lack Thereof”
What did Luck actually know before the fans bought season tickets (or the team set up its draft board) that he should have made a decision about? If he knew then that he couldn't play, he would have said so. If he is anything like the competitor his entire football life suggests he is, he kept trying to get well and play. It became too much. That it didn't become apparent that his efforts would be futile until an inconvenient time is not his fault.
"
Don’t we have an expectation that the goods we purchase will be well-made, competently presented, and enjoyable?
We do. What basis we have for that expectation is another question.
On “Weekend Plans Post: The State Fair”
My wife, who grew up in NYC, went with relatives every year to the State Fair in Danbury, Connecticut. She thought it was The State Fair. When I told her about the New York State Fair, held annually in Syracuse, where I grew up, she was astonished to hear about it.
On “Speaking of Terror”
This is remarkably good sense.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.