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Not so sinister: Homeland Security is stockpiling ammo _ for target practice | Fox News: "The Homeland Security Department wants to buy more than 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition in the next four or five years."
That works out to about 200 rounds per federal officers per month.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Meet Watson, Your Doctor in a Pizza-Size Box
Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Meet Watson, Your Doctor in a Pizza-Size Box: "The original Watson system consisted of 90 IBM Power 750 servers taking up 10 full racks. That works out to 2,880 CPU cores and 15TB of RAM. Watson now fits in a pizza box."
"WellPoint points out that doctors miss early stage lung cancer diagnoses about half the time. Watson, on the other hand, is able to get the right diagnosis on these same cases 90% of the time. Although, Watson will still hedge its bets: When a medical professional consults the system, they will receive results on an iPad or computer in about 30 seconds with possible courses of action sorted by confidence level."
"WellPoint points out that doctors miss early stage lung cancer diagnoses about half the time. Watson, on the other hand, is able to get the right diagnosis on these same cases 90% of the time. Although, Watson will still hedge its bets: When a medical professional consults the system, they will receive results on an iPad or computer in about 30 seconds with possible courses of action sorted by confidence level."
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Book Review: Coolidge | Gene Healy | Cato Institute
Book Review: Coolidge | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: "If there was ever a time when the president could simply preside, it has long passed. As early as the Eisenhower era, political scientist Clinton Rossiter observed that the public had come to see the federal chief executive as “a combination of scoutmaster, Delphic oracle, hero of the silver screen, and father of the multitudes.” Under the pressure of public demands, the office had accrued a host of responsibilities over and above its constitutional ones: “World Leader,” “Protector of the Peace,” “Chief Legislator,” “Manager of Prosperity,” “Voice of the People,” and more."
"In politics, it’s often easier to “do something,” however unwise, than it is to hold firm:"
"But unlike modern supply-siders, Coolidge attacked the beast head-on, instead of hoping to “starve” it indirectly."
"The tax cuts that Coolidge and Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon orchestrated took millions of people off the tax rolls. Unlike Mitt Romney, Coolidge and Mellon didn’t worry that they’d created a new horde of “takers.”"
"Coolidge “removed William Burns, the head of the Bureau of Investigation, and curtailed wiretapping, one of Burns’s favored tools.”"
"Coolidge ordered the release of Wilson’s remaining political prisoners."
"for all Coolidge’s faults, “the itch to run things did not afflict him….He never made inflammatory speeches….No bughouse professors, sweating fourth-dimensional economics, were received at the White House.”"
"In politics, it’s often easier to “do something,” however unwise, than it is to hold firm:"
"But unlike modern supply-siders, Coolidge attacked the beast head-on, instead of hoping to “starve” it indirectly."
"The tax cuts that Coolidge and Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon orchestrated took millions of people off the tax rolls. Unlike Mitt Romney, Coolidge and Mellon didn’t worry that they’d created a new horde of “takers.”"
"Coolidge “removed William Burns, the head of the Bureau of Investigation, and curtailed wiretapping, one of Burns’s favored tools.”"
"Coolidge ordered the release of Wilson’s remaining political prisoners."
"for all Coolidge’s faults, “the itch to run things did not afflict him….He never made inflammatory speeches….No bughouse professors, sweating fourth-dimensional economics, were received at the White House.”"
Obama's Executive Death Warrants | Cato Institute
Obama's Executive Death Warrants | Cato Institute: "Khan and Awlaki senior probably weren’t any great loss to humanity, but there’s an important matter of principle here: Can a president really serve as judge, jury and executioner over any American he deems a security threat?"
"Legal scholar Ryan Alford observes that the 13th century marks “the last time when the executive branch of any country governed by the common law had asserted that it was legal to kill a citizen on the basis of an executive order.” Obama’s “executive death warrant” is more than a breach of the Fifth Amendment’s due process guarantee, he argues, it’s an affront to the entire Anglo-American constitutional order."
"It seems it’s perfectly legal for the president to deem you a terrorist and vaporize you with a drone. But there’s one thing that he can never do: penalize you for failure to purchase health insurance. That would be tyrannical, you see."
"Legal scholar Ryan Alford observes that the 13th century marks “the last time when the executive branch of any country governed by the common law had asserted that it was legal to kill a citizen on the basis of an executive order.” Obama’s “executive death warrant” is more than a breach of the Fifth Amendment’s due process guarantee, he argues, it’s an affront to the entire Anglo-American constitutional order."
"It seems it’s perfectly legal for the president to deem you a terrorist and vaporize you with a drone. But there’s one thing that he can never do: penalize you for failure to purchase health insurance. That would be tyrannical, you see."
School bus driver who flunked drug test can keep job, New York court rules | Fox News
School bus driver who flunked drug test can keep job, New York court rules | Fox News: "A New York bus driver who was fired after failing a random drug test should be reinstated, the state’s highest court ruled on Tuesday.
The Albany Times Union reports that the Court of Appeals' unanimous ruling supports the conclusion of an arbitrator who determined the firing of Cynthia DiDomenicantonio in November 2009 was too severe a punishment for the 10-year district employee."
The Albany Times Union reports that the Court of Appeals' unanimous ruling supports the conclusion of an arbitrator who determined the firing of Cynthia DiDomenicantonio in November 2009 was too severe a punishment for the 10-year district employee."
Massive protest movement emerges against Islamists in Bangladesh - CSMonitor.com
Massive protest movement emerges against Islamists in Bangladesh - CSMonitor.com: "A protest that has at times swelled into the hundreds of thousands entered its ninth day today in Bangladesh’s capital, touched off by the outcome of a war crimes trial that has awoken an astonishing struggle over this country's identity and the role that religion plays in its fractious politics."
State of the Union?
When was the last time that the "state of the union" was really a status update and provided new information? In this communication age is the constitutional requirement that "He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union" really needed? Does it even make sense to call it the "state of the union address" when it is more like a annual policy speech?
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Pennsylvania school district to lose $147G grant after teachers union balks at training | Fox News
Pennsylvania school district to lose $147G grant after teachers union balks at training | Fox News: "The union contends the district applied for the grant in January� 2011, at a time when teachers were working under an expired contract and negotiating the current pact, which went into effect retroactively to July 2011. Runyon said the training program, which includes some aspects his members find objectionable, should have been part of talks."
It was just a possibility -- why should it be rejected just because it wasn't included in the contract negotiation.
It was just a possibility -- why should it be rejected just because it wasn't included in the contract negotiation.
Cell phone subsidies claimed by many who can't prove eligibility | Mobile - CNET News
Cell phone subsidies claimed by many who can't prove eligibility | Mobile - CNET News: "The agency figured that around 15 percent of users would be determined ineligible, but the tighter rules discovered a lot more than that.
A review of the program by The Wall Street Journal found that 41 percent of the 6 million people who benefited from Lifeline were unable to prove their eligibility or failed to answer requests for verification from their carrier.
In total, the government spent about $2.2 billion on Lifeline last year.
Mobile phone subscribers pay around $2.50 per household to fund Lifeline and other subsidized programs. That money is used to pay carriers $9.25 per customer each month to deliver free or cheap mobile service, according to the Journal. Funding for Lifeline has risen over the years as more carriers have jumped onto the bandwagon."
"Until recently, subscribers didn't have to offer any proof of their income level. They could continue with the program without having to periodically verify their eligibilty. And no checks were made to see how many people in a household were taking advantage of Lifeline."
A review of the program by The Wall Street Journal found that 41 percent of the 6 million people who benefited from Lifeline were unable to prove their eligibility or failed to answer requests for verification from their carrier.
In total, the government spent about $2.2 billion on Lifeline last year.
Mobile phone subscribers pay around $2.50 per household to fund Lifeline and other subsidized programs. That money is used to pay carriers $9.25 per customer each month to deliver free or cheap mobile service, according to the Journal. Funding for Lifeline has risen over the years as more carriers have jumped onto the bandwagon."
"Until recently, subscribers didn't have to offer any proof of their income level. They could continue with the program without having to periodically verify their eligibilty. And no checks were made to see how many people in a household were taking advantage of Lifeline."
Reflections on Gun Control by a Second Amendment Advocate | Cato Institute
Reflections on Gun Control by a Second Amendment Advocate | Cato Institute: "but that would also mean individuals trying to defend themselves would not be seriously hampered by a 10-round limit. They too could reload very rapidly."
Reloading rapidly can require practice and criminals may practice significantly more than the average gun-owner.
"Criminals typically use handguns; assault weapons are expensive and difficult to conceal."
"Jamaica is particularly revealing. Beginning in 1974, handguns were virtually banned. You could get them with a license, but you had to prove need, and licenses were almost never issued. Since the ban, the murder rate has soared to become one of the highest in the world—now more than double other Caribbean nations, six times higher than before the ban, and a dozen times the U.S. rate. Naturally, the ban is not wholly to blame, but it certainly did not help."
"Banning popular semi-automatic rifles, merely because they come equipped with a pistol grip or some other attachment that has no effect on their lethality, makes no sense whatsoever."
"Survey data indicate that less than 2 percent of guns used by criminals are bought at gun shows and flea markets—and that includes sales through licensed dealers."
"That’s a conviction rate of 5/100ths of one percent. Either the remaining denials were false positives — legitimate purchases unjustly blocked by NICS — or, if the denials were proper, then 99.95 percent of the 79,000 rejected applicants escaped punishment. Neither conclusion offers much hope for an expanded system of background checks."
"A significant number of checks last 72 hours, and most gun shows are two-day events."
"because drugs are illegal, participants in the drug trade cannot go to court to settle disputes and enforce contracts. As a result, disputes are resolved by force. Meanwhile, the Drug Enforcement Administration has 10,000 agents, analysts, and support staff, who could be fighting terrorism or real crime—including gun violence."
"It is not the government’s role to pay for private medical care unless third-party rights are involved."
"It’s true that an armed guard did not prevent Columbine; but neither did the ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines then in effect. Moreover, the rules of engagement, which have since been changed, told the armed guard at Columbine to wait for SWAT team backup. No wonder the guard did not stop the carnage; although he did delay the killers, which gave some students time to escape."
"Congress has no role to play in funding armed school guards"
"In Norway, with tight controls and licensing, Anders Breivik gunned down 69 people. Here in the United States, our worst incident killed 38 elementary school children in Michigan. The weapon of choice was bombs, not guns."
"Researchers could not identify a single gun-control regulation that meaningfully reduced violent crime, suicide, or accidents. In 2003, the CDC reported on ammunition limits, restrictions on purchase, waiting periods, registration, licensing, child access prevention and zero-tolerance laws. Conclusion: None of the laws demonstrably reduced gun violence."
Reloading rapidly can require practice and criminals may practice significantly more than the average gun-owner.
"Criminals typically use handguns; assault weapons are expensive and difficult to conceal."
"Jamaica is particularly revealing. Beginning in 1974, handguns were virtually banned. You could get them with a license, but you had to prove need, and licenses were almost never issued. Since the ban, the murder rate has soared to become one of the highest in the world—now more than double other Caribbean nations, six times higher than before the ban, and a dozen times the U.S. rate. Naturally, the ban is not wholly to blame, but it certainly did not help."
"Banning popular semi-automatic rifles, merely because they come equipped with a pistol grip or some other attachment that has no effect on their lethality, makes no sense whatsoever."
"Survey data indicate that less than 2 percent of guns used by criminals are bought at gun shows and flea markets—and that includes sales through licensed dealers."
"That’s a conviction rate of 5/100ths of one percent. Either the remaining denials were false positives — legitimate purchases unjustly blocked by NICS — or, if the denials were proper, then 99.95 percent of the 79,000 rejected applicants escaped punishment. Neither conclusion offers much hope for an expanded system of background checks."
"A significant number of checks last 72 hours, and most gun shows are two-day events."
"because drugs are illegal, participants in the drug trade cannot go to court to settle disputes and enforce contracts. As a result, disputes are resolved by force. Meanwhile, the Drug Enforcement Administration has 10,000 agents, analysts, and support staff, who could be fighting terrorism or real crime—including gun violence."
"It is not the government’s role to pay for private medical care unless third-party rights are involved."
"It’s true that an armed guard did not prevent Columbine; but neither did the ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines then in effect. Moreover, the rules of engagement, which have since been changed, told the armed guard at Columbine to wait for SWAT team backup. No wonder the guard did not stop the carnage; although he did delay the killers, which gave some students time to escape."
"Congress has no role to play in funding armed school guards"
"In Norway, with tight controls and licensing, Anders Breivik gunned down 69 people. Here in the United States, our worst incident killed 38 elementary school children in Michigan. The weapon of choice was bombs, not guns."
"Researchers could not identify a single gun-control regulation that meaningfully reduced violent crime, suicide, or accidents. In 2003, the CDC reported on ammunition limits, restrictions on purchase, waiting periods, registration, licensing, child access prevention and zero-tolerance laws. Conclusion: None of the laws demonstrably reduced gun violence."
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