One of the shibboleths of our age is that government is always and only inefficient and ineffective as compared to the private sector or “markets”.  This has been a view that has … Continue reading Why Shouldn’t the US Federal Government Invest $4-$6 Trillion Per Year on Climate Protection? (Part 2 of 2) 

The US Climate Platform outlines why and how the US federal government should invest somewhere in the area of $4 trillion to $6 trillion per year on stabilizing the global climate, in … Continue reading Should the US Federal Government Invest $4-$6 Trillion Per Year on Climate Protection? Part 1

Without the help of the authors, only a third of the results could be independently replicated by the researchers. Even with their help, only about half could. Just goes to show you … Continue reading Federal Reserve paper on the replicability of economic studies

The most pernicious effect of the status of economics in public life has been the hegemony of technocratic thinking. Political questions about how to run society have come to be framed as … Continue reading Don’t let the Nobel prize fool you. Economics is not a science

“We have not identified a single instance involving a threat to the United States in which the telephone records program made a concrete difference in the outcome of a counterterrorism investigation,” said … Continue reading Independent review board says NSA phone data program is illegal and should end

A letter from Jared Mauldin, a senior at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington, begins with the assertion that the women in his engineering classes are not his equals. The way he … Continue reading A guy wrote an honest letter to all the women in his engineering class

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have published a study (abstract) noting that pregnant women are more likely to give birth prematurely if they live close to fracking sites. Source: Study Finds Higher Rates of Premature Birth Near Fracking Sites – Slashdot Continue reading Study Finds Higher Rates of Premature Birth Near Fracking Sites

This is probably the right time to remind everyone that, when asked, the FBI’s director James Comedy couldn’t name a single investigation that was hindered by encrypted data. Source: The US government … Continue reading The US government won’t force backdoor access, but still wants it

#NothingCanBeDone Ben Bernanke, former head of the Federal Reserve, recently complained about Congress. Too bad he didn’t say anything WHEN he was the Chairman of the Fed! “They blamed the crisis on the Fed and on Fannie (Mae) and Freddie (Mac), with little regard for the manifest failings of the private sector, … Continue reading Defeatists Policies – by Ben Bernanke

Without the help of the authors, only a third of the results could be independently replicated by the researchers. Even with their help, only 49% could. This shows you how today’s “economists” … Continue reading Two Fed economists tried to replicate some top economic studies — and the results are dreadful

Dozens of human rights organizations are calling on Facebook to once and for all fix its “real name” policy—one that’s “culturally biased” and “technically flawed.” Source: More than 70 human rights groups tell Facebook … Continue reading More than 70 human rights groups tell Facebook to change its ‘real name’ policy

This is a discussion from Reddit, called Explain Like I’m Five: Alright, let’s kick this one off. The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a multi-layered deal whose particulars have just been agreed upon by … Continue reading The Trans-Pacific Partnership deal : Reddit