Archive for 2013

IRS SCANDAL UPDATE: CNN: Republicans to make big pushes on oversight legislation.

Before the House breaks for August recess, Republicans plan to pass legislation next week designed to “stop government abuse,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor reiterated Saturday.

The legislation includes 10 measures for floor votes, largely pegged to this year’s IRS controversy in which political groups seeking tax-exempt status received extra scrutiny. Republicans especially want to roll back the agency’s role in overseeing key parts of Obamacare.

It’s a good start.

DOUBLING DOWN ON FAILURE: Blue Solutions: Bankrupt Detroit Plans for $450 Million Sports Arena. “Remember that this is the same city that can’t afford streetlights, an adequate police force, or education system to give its children a decent shot in life. The bare minimum of social services required to make Detroit anything resembling a functioning society aren’t being provided right now. A plan to bill taxpayers for hundreds of millions to build a dubious city pride project, even while the pension and health care packages promised to many of them are being gutted, deserves a second vote at minimum.”

THINKING OF A TENURE-TRACK JOB as a 7-year postdoc. “Tenure-track? what’s that? Hey, I’m signing up for a 7-year postdoc to hang out with some of the smartest, coolest folks on the planet! Its going to be a blast. And which other company gives you 7 year job security? This is the awesomest job ever!”

Probably a good way of looking at things in terms of one’s own sanity. But only at top private and flagship state schools can a person who is denied tenure expect to get another good job in academia — or in fields like computer science, where there’s lots of opportunity in industry. And as the higher education bubble deflates, that will become even more true.

And note this critique in the comments. “What about the students paying rapidly-rising tuition to ‘learn?’ Note how little the author talked about teaching, and isn’t that what school is supposed to be all about? But in most major universities, undergraduate teaching has largely been relegated to TAs, GAs, new professors, adjuncts, visitors, and other sorts of surrogates for ‘full professors.’ . . . Institutionalized big academia has become all about adding prestige and endowment back to the university instead of value to the real customer: students.”

J. CHRISTIAN ADAMS: Yes, the RNC Really DID Support Federal Oversight of State Elections. “He who rides a redistricting tiger becomes afraid to dismount. As the RNC clutched the tiger’s ears tightly and created safe racially gerrymandered districts using federal oversight, Section 5 was also used to destroy election integrity and aid the institutional left. Until you see the abuse of power as it happens from inside the DOJ Voting Section as an employee, you simply cannot fathom how the federal power over the states is abused by DOJ bureaucrats. . . . After the story hit last Friday, Republican donors and grassroots activists around the country went nuts. Having the RNC seek the same goal as Eric Holder as it relates to election oversight is simply unacceptable in 2013. The donor and grassroots fury should be a lesson to any House Republican looking to re-impose federal burdens on states. It’s not 2006 anymore.”

AT AMAZON, up to 60% off on Sony SD Memory Cards. You can never have too many.

Also: up to 25% off on select underwater cameras.

UPDATE: Reader Bruce Parker writes: “A friend and I went to the Isle of Man races in June, and he bought a Pentax WG-3 ‘adventure camera’ for the trip. Amazing features, very compact, excellent results. My Canon G9 was a box camera in comparison.”

ADVICE TO WOMEN: Don’t Chop Your Hair Off In An Effort To Look Young. Some women — mostly with elfin features and sharp cheekbones — look good with short hair. For most, the middle-aged bob is a mistake, if nothing else because so many middle-aged women go for it.

A READER REPORT: “Chicken Salsa Recipe: We tried the recipe you posted on Saturday. We used thighs instead of breasts, and added flour tortilla 1″ squares at the end. Great food. Thanks.” Glad it worked out! And substituting thighs for breasts is usually the way to go with chicken.

UPDATE: The Anchoress emails:

Glenn, since you wanted to know, I used the slow cooker today to make this, and the family gave it a big thumbs up. With six chicken breasts, I used the cream of chicken soup and a spicy salsa. Half hour before I was ready to serve I pulled the chicken and then added the sour cream and half a small can of black beans. Since a few of us are low-carbing it, I served a choice of rice or low-carb rotini. Delish!

Everyone agreed that it was quite rich enough without a sprinkling of Mexican-flavored shredded cheese, although I can see where some might like it. Next time though, I will add the whole can of beans and perhaps half a cup of corn for crunch. I definitely will make it again.

I’m going to have to give it a try, too.

YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT GIVING SPECIAL GUN-CARRYING RULES TO RETIRED COPS violates the Constitution’s ban on titles of nobility. Special rights to bear arms were one of the chief characteristics of titles of nobility, which were by no means always hereditary.

ASKING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: Could I Have Prevented My Nearsightedness If I’d Just Spent More Time Outside As A Kid? “A spate of studies over the past decade has found that kids who spend more time outdoors are less likely to develop near-sightedness. Outdoor time seems to protect kids even if they do a lot of ‘near work’ (e.g., reading Goosebumps and Animorphs nonstop) and if their parents are myopic.”

BEWARE OF Celebrity Academia. “Where could you go if you wanted to get the robust arguments, instead of affiliating with impressive intellectuals? First, read textbooks. I heartily recommend textbooks in most any subject. In fact, it is hard to do better than just sitting in a university bookstore and just reading all the intro texts they have. I spent many days in the Stanford bookstore doing just that. Once you are done with textbooks, review articles are the next most robust option. And beware when interest in a topic seems to focus mainly on a particular personality who writes on that topic, and doesn’t transfer much to others who write on that same topic.”

A NEW REALITY SHOW: The Government: Episode 1. “Follow the day-to-day office life of a federal agency trying desperately to spend their way to a bigger budget.”