9:46 AM
Cascadian commented on There's No Workable Solution for Seattle's Homeless Camps.
Cascadian commented on There's No Workable Solution for Seattle's Homeless Camps.
The solution is building housing with tax dollars. Nationwide, so no single city or state has to bear the burden. Barring that, Nickelsville is what we're stuck with. Accept it, or work toward the real solution.
1:15 PM yesterday
Cascadian commented on Everything Wrong with Television, in One Handy Chart.
Cascadian commented on Everything Wrong with Television, in One Handy Chart.
I watch plenty of TV, but I don't regularly watch a single network show. I just looked up the network lineups and about half a dozen are shows I have ever watched or have heard good things about and might watch in the future.
10:58 AM yesterday
Cascadian commented on The Only Thing More Tragic than a Bridge Collapse Would Be a 10 Cent a Gallon Increase in the Gas Tax.
Cascadian commented on The Only Thing More Tragic than a Bridge Collapse Would Be a 10 Cent a Gallon Increase in the Gas Tax.
"Democrats will argue that the bridge collapse proves we need more transportation dollars now. Republicans will argue that the bridge collapse proves we need to re-prioritize our transportation spending."
They're both right. We need more dollars overall, but we need to prioritize safety first and get rid of anything that expands lanes that doesn't also have a real safety purpose. We should not be building any new freeways, and Democrats are too quick to support such projects.
We should fund all bridges on the list of deficient structures, and replace all obsolete bridges that have a single point of failure like the Skagit Bridge. If we can do that with the money already appropriated (we likely can't), then call it good. Otherwise, increase taxes to cover these basic projects. THEN figure out how much more we need to spend on projects that are not basic safety upgrades and maintenance, and raise the revenue to pay for them. But the baseline should always be upgrading what's obsolete and dangerous, and maintaining what we already have. Until that is done, we shouldn't even debate spending a penny on other projects.
After that, I'd argue we should only spend on transit, not roads. But let's do the basics first and not last, OK?
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They're both right. We need more dollars overall, but we need to prioritize safety first and get rid of anything that expands lanes that doesn't also have a real safety purpose. We should not be building any new freeways, and Democrats are too quick to support such projects.
We should fund all bridges on the list of deficient structures, and replace all obsolete bridges that have a single point of failure like the Skagit Bridge. If we can do that with the money already appropriated (we likely can't), then call it good. Otherwise, increase taxes to cover these basic projects. THEN figure out how much more we need to spend on projects that are not basic safety upgrades and maintenance, and raise the revenue to pay for them. But the baseline should always be upgrading what's obsolete and dangerous, and maintaining what we already have. Until that is done, we shouldn't even debate spending a penny on other projects.
After that, I'd argue we should only spend on transit, not roads. But let's do the basics first and not last, OK?
May 23
Cascadian commented on Obama Administration Admits the US Has Used Drones to Kill Its Citizens.
Cascadian commented on Obama Administration Admits the US Has Used Drones to Kill Its Citizens.
This speech is a subtle shift in direction, but a welcome one. If it's not followed up by other actions, it's nothing more than feel-good rhetoric. But it opens up a process of creating outside oversight of drone strikes, signals an intention to end the al-Qaeda AUMF, and renews the call on Congress to end Gitmo. Those are three things we didn't have before today.
Now we need action to make these words meaningful.
Now we need action to make these words meaningful.
May 23
Cascadian commented on Tornadoes are Common in Oklahoma City, Basements Aren't....
Cascadian commented on Tornadoes are Common in Oklahoma City, Basements Aren't....
The solution is public emergency shelters. That avoids requiring expensive regulations that might make modest homes uneconomical to build (for an event that is actually quite rare), while actually giving people options when a disaster does occur.
If Oklahoma won't do it themselves, we should pass a federal requirement for shelters like this and commit to paying for their construction and maintenance.
If Oklahoma won't do it themselves, we should pass a federal requirement for shelters like this and commit to paying for their construction and maintenance.
May 14
Cascadian commented on Welcome News for People Who Like Foods That Taste Good.
Cascadian commented on Welcome News for People Who Like Foods That Taste Good.
A different recent study seemed to implicate salt in certain auto-immune diseases (such as psoriasis), so even if the link with heart disease seems overblown, that doesn't mean that everyone is in the clear.
May 13
Cascadian commented on Gay Marriage Comes to Minnesota.
Cascadian commented on Gay Marriage Comes to Minnesota.
Next up: Illinois. Which would put 20% of the population in a marriage equality state. (Right now it's a bit more than one out of six.)
Then that's probably it for a while. Who knows which way the Supreme Court goes, but if they don't rule in favor of nationwide marriage equality, they could still rule for California. (That plus IL would put 1/3 of Americans in an equality state.)
After that, there's nothing on the horizon until possibly New Jersey and Oregon in 2014, and Nevada in 2016. But a lot of states are good candidates: Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and New Mexico are in the next tier.
Hopefully the high court makes this all moot.
Then that's probably it for a while. Who knows which way the Supreme Court goes, but if they don't rule in favor of nationwide marriage equality, they could still rule for California. (That plus IL would put 1/3 of Americans in an equality state.)
After that, there's nothing on the horizon until possibly New Jersey and Oregon in 2014, and Nevada in 2016. But a lot of states are good candidates: Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and New Mexico are in the next tier.
Hopefully the high court makes this all moot.
May 13
Cascadian commented on Cultured Meat.
Cascadian commented on Cultured Meat.
People are irrational about food, so this might not catch on even if they get it close enough to (or better than) what people expect from traditional meat. But if it does catch on, the survival of many of our current food species might be in question. Cows have evolved (and been bred) to be food, and exist in the millions because people eat them. If no one is eating them, they might become quite rare, except for people willing to pay more for the artisan experience. It would be ironic if fake meat led to the extinction of cows.
May 10
Cascadian commented on Another Day, Another Child Shooting Another Child in the Face.
Cascadian commented on Another Day, Another Child Shooting Another Child in the Face.
@16, the peak year for gun violence was 1993, the same year background checks were initiated, after which millions of sales to criminals and other dangerous people were prevented. So, I take it that you would like to extend this record by tightening background checks further, right?
May 10
Cascadian commented on Tesla the Beautiful.
Cascadian commented on Tesla the Beautiful.
Also, reading the comments on the Consumer Reports review (that rated the Model S the best car they've ever rated, 99/100), someone did the math and at European gas prices ($10/gallon equivalent) the Model S already pays for itself completely, all $90k and not just the marginal cost difference, in fuel savings over ten years. It's also likely to need less maintenance. So if this car doesn't have any longer-term quality issues, and if they can get the marketing right and ramp up production, Tesla could make huge inroads in Europe. Their stock price rise is justified, for now.
What's really holding things back in this country is the huge subsidies for cheap gasoline and oil. If we stopped subsidizing oil production, and actually implemented a carbon tax or cap and trade system, we'd be in much better shape to take advantage of technological changes in electrical cars and alternative energy.
What's really holding things back in this country is the huge subsidies for cheap gasoline and oil. If we stopped subsidizing oil production, and actually implemented a carbon tax or cap and trade system, we'd be in much better shape to take advantage of technological changes in electrical cars and alternative energy.
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