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A lot of libertarian economists (Arnold Kling and the like) tend to argue that the high costs of care in America are a simple result of how much we pay for services. They, predictably, ascribe the sums to the awesome technologies and phenomenal operations we deploy. But it’s more structural than that. In their (damn […]

So uh, who runs the search engine?

Despite the fact that he apparently despises me, this, by Ethan, is a very good catch: The National Security Agency’s Internet site has been placing files on visitors’ computers that can track their Web surfing activity despite strict federal rules banning most files of that type. The files, known as cookies, disappeared after a privacy […]

What’s with the intensity of the Friends bashing? Chris Bertram writes: My own personal nomination for the worst American of all time would be the person most responsible for the TV series Friends. There should be a special place in hell reserved for that individual. You may or may not have liked the show, but […]

Man, this is some insanely bad polling: Should the National Security Agency be allowed to intercept telephone conversations between terrorism suspects in other countries and people living in the United States? Yes64% No23% And I mean bad in both senses of the word. First, as John notes, these are bad numbers. I sure as hell […]

Via John Cole, this stuff never ceases to amaze me: God sees embryos as “full and complete” humans, Pope Benedict said on Wednesday in an address that firmly underlined the Roman Catholic Church’s stance against abortion and scientific research on embryos. “The loving eyes of God look on the human being, considered full and complete […]

Jeff Madrick’s got about the best summation of our economy’s deterioration over the last few decades that I’ve seen: Between 1973 and 1993, the standard of living for average Americans rose more slowly than in any previous twenty-year period since the Civil War. Although the economy grew, the benefits of this growth were largely enjoyed […]

Don’t know what it means, don’t know how it’ll shake out, but there are signs that the California housing market is — finally! — cooling: on Friday, the Commerce Department reported that sales of new single-family homes fell 11.3% nationwide in November, the largest drop in nearly 12 years. The report hurt shares of KB […]

Interesting: The Nobel Prize in Literature was the first of the major modern cultural prizes. It was soon followed by the Prix Goncourt (first awarded in 1903) and the Pulitzer Prizes (conceived in 1904, first awarded in 1917). The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences started handing out its prizes in 1929; the Emmys […]