Let's run the numbers

On Security, Tourism, and Economics Steven Perlstein's column in the business section of the Post on Friday hits a lot of points that need to be discussed. The experience of tourists is lessened because of the security, which will mean fewer tourists and fewer dollars coming into the city. Local businesses and the government itself is losing worker productivity because of the security measures. Plus, it's just not as much fun to live here anymore. Use Caution in the Pursuit of Security (washingtonpost.com) : Today's state funeral for Ronald Reagan surely demands the extraordinary measures that have been taken to protect against a terrorist attack. But the last week has also offered reminders to visitors and residents of how much the everyday security measures have altered the life of the city. Access to public places has been significantly curtailed. The public landscape and streetscape have been scarred, in some cases permanently. And the economic costs are...

Are we safer yet? There was an article on Salon by their "Ask the Pilot" columnist, Patrick Smith, talking about our current focus on security. He specifically talks about airport security, but his comments applies to all of our current security madness. Salon.com Technology | Terrorism, tweezers and terminal madness After standing in queue for fifteen minutes I approach the metal detectors, where a screener greets me good morning. She is wearing paramilitary-style uniform complete with shoulder braids, combat boots and a beret. Across her back it says SECURITY in heavy gold lettering. This is supposed to look and feel like the ordered confidence you'd encounter in Europe or Asia. But the too-sharp creases in the pantlegs, the snapping gum and the glossy lipstick, all expose the phoniness and desperation of the scene. These aren't even the trappings of a third world state -- something you'd see at the airport in Quito or Entebbe. They're a carnival...

Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan died yesterday. What died was a husk of a person, who had very little to do with the "Great Communicator" we remember from the 1980's. Billmon has a good retrospective of the Reagan years on his website, to which I'll add only one thing. Reagan may have allowed the Volker Fed to do what it had to do to stop inflation, by strangling the economy with high interest rates for a year or so. But then he fired Volker (OK, refused to appoint him to another term) and put in Alan Greenspan, who's qualification depended upon him being one of Ayn Rand's disciples as much as his intellect. And he's been with us ever since. Rant over. Whiskey Bar: Ronald Reagan

Success I've figured out a way to use an open source program, Streamripper , to download NPR's Morning Edition as an MP3 file. I use the Windows Scheduler to kick off a batch file at 4:57 AM, which records until 7:03 AM, getting the first two hours from an MP3 stream. Then I can download the file into my MP3 player and listen to it on the Metro, at my desk, or in the gym. I know I'll be setting up batch files to record other programs too; I just set one up to grab "As It Happens", a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio news program. And once again, I'll have more information than I'll know how to deal with. It's an embarrassment of riches, and a wonderful problem to have.

Cheney and Halliburton, Again There ought to be a law against someone working for another company, say, Halliburton, while also receiving a paycheck as Vice President of the United States. Remember Cheney is still receiving payments from them for "deferred" compensation. E-Mail Links Cheney's Office, Contract (washingtonpost.com) : Shortly before the Pentagon awarded a division of oil services contactor Halliburton Co. a sole-source contract to help restore Iraqi oil fields last year, an Army Corps of Engineers official wrote an e-mail saying the award had been 'coordinated' with the office of Vice President Cheney, Halliburton's former chief executive. The March 5, 2003, e-mail, disclosed over the weekend by Time magazine, noted that Douglas Feith, a senior Pentagon official, had signed off on the deal 'contingent on informing WH [the White House] tomorrow.' 'We anticipate no issues since action has been coordinated w VP's office...

Stagflation Last week the Angry Bear mentioned an article on Salon that he thought merited sitting through their ad to get a day pass for. Well, I did and got to wandering around through it and decided to go ahead and pay for a subscription so I wouldn't have to go through the ads to get to James Galbraith's columns. This one from May 20, 2004 is wonderful, and matches my own views about Alan Greenspan: The man who stayed too long. Greenspan has made quite a few mistakes in his career as Fed Chairman, and he's fixing to make another one, one that may bring back the stagflation of the 1970's. Salon: The man who stayed too long Greenspan is already telling us, as clearly as he ever does, that the Fed will shortly repeat the mistakes of the last oil price shock, back in the 1970s. Faced with inflation -- even just a small amount -- it will raise interest rates. This is called "fighting inflation." The headline writers will say so endlessly, until you...