The Vagaries of Medicare Reform

by Elias Isquith November 25, 2011

A weird article from The New York Times purports to reveal a growing consensus among lawmakers, born from the failed Super Committee, in favor of eliminating Medicare as we know it in favor of vouchers: Though it reached no agreement, the special Congressional committee on deficit reduction built a case for major structural changes in [...]

32 comments Read the full article →

From the comments: Doctors and Bankers

by Murali November 24, 2011

Jesse Ewiak writes: If I go to a doctor and he tells me I need this procedure and it turns it out it ruins my life, it’s perfectly reasonable to blame the doctor. Yet, I say the same thing about a banker and I hear calls of personal responsibility. I guess I should’ve known medical [...]

72 comments Read the full article →

Thanksgiving long weekend long song jukebox and open thread

by Jaybird November 24, 2011

This is the time of year when it’s awesome to have a song that takes 10 minutes to give you time to think about all the things you’re thankful for and then list them in the comments or to air your grievances there or, heck, to just treat the comments like an open thread.

1 comment Read the full article →

A Song fer Thanksgivin’

by J.L. Wall November 23, 2011

I just spent six and a half hours driving — the sun somehow in my face while heading south — with a vacuum cleaner in the trunk, a sick tortoise in the backseat, and a pile of clothes, sack of library books, and half-written paper on Louis Zukofsky riding shotgun.  This is my life.  It’s [...]

1 comment Read the full article →

Everything happens for a reason?

by David Ryan November 23, 2011

In the comments threads of some of my earlier post, various argument have been forwarded for why Intellectual Property should be treated as a special case under legal and moral theories of private property and public good. One especially enthusiastic commenter offered the extreme and ongoing value of this or that bit of Intellectual Property [...]

31 comments Read the full article →

“We Got Sold Out”

by Ethan Gach November 23, 2011

Once thought the great liberal hope, captivating progressive audiences everywhere with promises of change, Obama has fallen largely out of favor with his left of center supporters.  There are lots of reasons for this, ranging from the President’s foreign policy to his seeming inability to enact large portions of the liberal agenda.  Some of the [...]

145 comments Read the full article →

Copyright isn’t just for music and movies.

by David Ryan November 22, 2011

As noted earlier, I am in the midst of a career change. I started my life as a professional photographer mostly creating commissioned works under various licensing agreements and for the last decade have been mostly making my living creating self-financed films distributed on DVD under home viewing license. I have also had some professional experience [...]

33 comments Read the full article →

Theocratic Quips Less Scary Than Advertised

by Burt Likko November 22, 2011

I’m enjoying the process of deflagging quotes. Today, I came across an article on Slate describing what are portrayed as theocratic tendencies among Republican Presidential candidates. So without referencing the original Slate article with these quotes, see if you can match up the following statements to the following Presidential candidates competing for the Republican nomination:

55 comments Read the full article →

Pray That All Their Pain Be Champagne

by Jason Kuznicki November 22, 2011

Well I do, anyway. The economist Justin Wolfers tweeted an interesting poll result yesterday, from Kaiser (though I’m having trouble finding it at the moment): As far as you are concerned, do we have too many rich people in this country (31%), too few (21%), or about the right amount? (42%) As far as I [...]

357 comments Read the full article →

Murali’s Democratic Impossibility Theorem

by Murali November 22, 2011

Ladies and Gentlemen this being the latest in a round of posts on democracy, is going to be long. I also promise that it will be bizarre. I would like to talk about two features of democracies, which each,, in themselves are essential, but create a particular strange problem when found together. These two features [...]

11 comments Read the full article →

Who Occupies the Occupiers?

by Christopher Carr November 21, 2011

I’m glad Mike Drew wrote a guest post. Mike’s comments are consistently the ones I meditate over most (which explains why I rarely respond to them while the thread is still active.), and Mike’s guest post is like the king of Mike Drew Comments. I have lots of things to say in response to his [...]

38 comments Read the full article →

Help Wanted

by David Ryan November 21, 2011

Following on to Ethan’s post from earlier today about the dire job market, and Tod Kelly’s about asking the right hiring questions, I thought I’d let you all know that The Montauk Catamaran Company is hiring. From what I’ve been able to glean on the internet and from asking some inappropriate questions of some of [...]

16 comments Read the full article →

Unsatisfied: Why Liberals Are Never Happy with Democratic Presidents

by Elias Isquith November 21, 2011

Jonathan Chait’s debut (I think) long-read for New York Magazine is on liberal discontent with President Obama, something Chait has grappled with, argued against, and endeavored to understand throughout the Obama Presidency — or at least ever since the so-called Professional Left first began voicing significant complaints. His conclusion here is the same as it’s [...]

17 comments Read the full article →

The short and sweet life of Community

by Daniel November 21, 2011

A funny thing happened with Community last week. Someone noticed that NBC hadn’t listed it on its midseason lineup. In its spot was 30 Rock, finally coming back from hiatus. Panic among Community fans quickly ensued. Twitter lit up with cries of objection and inside jokes from the shoe. I tweeted a jest from a [...]

12 comments Read the full article →

On Student Debt and Youth Unemployment

by Ethan Gach November 21, 2011

Derek Thompson of The Atlantic has written extensively about the current recession.  As he notes, young people are having an especially rough time making ground in the workforce right now.  Students are graduating “$23,000 in the red,” on the whole, “joblessness is between two and three times higher for 20-somethings than it is for older workers,” [...]

52 comments Read the full article →

We’re Asking the Wrong Hiring Questions

by Tod Kelly November 20, 2011

(photo: Random people of different genders and ethnic backgrounds take time to do board-of-directory things.)   Good news! My company has just invited you to have a seat on its Board of Directors. Congratulations! Aside from the prestige that will now be showered upon you, you will of course be given some fabulous stock options [...]

122 comments Read the full article →

Romney’s Going Big in Iowa

by Elias Isquith November 20, 2011

One wonders how much the rise of Newtmentum influenced this decision: The answer to one of the great lingering questions about the Republican presidential race has suddenly turned up here along Ingersoll Avenue, where Mitt Romney’s Iowa campaign headquarters is opening for business. Mr. Romney, who has been cautiously calibrating expectations about his chances in [...]

19 comments Read the full article →

An Aspirational Quiz

by Burt Likko November 20, 2011

Inspired by Tod Kelly’s claim that we U.S. Americans are really closer to one another politically than we think, following is a quiz. All remarks are taken from the speeches of either John McCain or Barack Obama accepting their respective parties’ nominations in 2008. I picked these in part from Tod’s reference to the nominating [...]

47 comments Read the full article →

Borrowing our way to prosperity.

by David Ryan November 20, 2011

Nassim Talib asserting (among other things) that the Fed will not be around in 25 years. We anticipate (hope!) the construction of the charter sailing catamaran Mon Tiki will take 4-6 months. Aside from the previously mentioned design and engineering fees, materials, and rent, we’ll also be hiring a small crew of local builders. (I [...]

2 comments Read the full article →

How to Lose the Sympathy of Reasonable People: A Short Primer

by Jason Kuznicki November 19, 2011

As James Fallows writes: Let’s stipulate that there are legitimate questions of how to balance the rights of peaceful protest against other people’s rights to go about their normal lives, and the rights of institutions to have some control over their property and public spaces. Without knowing the whole background, I’ll even assume for purposes [...]

112 comments Read the full article →

We’re Having the Wrong Argument – Opening Statement

by Tod Kelly November 19, 2011

I have an idea bouncing around inside of my head like a marble, and as I am pretty sure everyone here will disagree with it I am going to ask for some feedback from the hive mind: I have been wondering lately how different we Americans, with our different political labels and sub-labels, really are [...]

112 comments Read the full article →

He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.

by David Ryan November 19, 2011

I’ve just stepped off the scale, so I can tell you that right now, at this very moment, I weight 182.6 pounds. At 5’8″, this puts my Body Mass Index in the “overweight” category. By my own assessment, I am 10-15 pounds above ‘fighting trim’, and about 20 pounds above being ripped like Jesus. My [...]

62 comments Read the full article →

Democratic Participation and The Tactics of Occupy Wall Street

by Guest Authors November 19, 2011

~by Michael Drew In comments, Professor James Hanley had this rebuke of the NYPD, followed by some advice for Occupy Wall Street: [C]olor me exceptionally disgusted by NYC’s shock and awe approach, which is exactly the second worst type of policing possible (with the worst being secret police). But this colossal fascist beat-down is not [...]

34 comments Read the full article →

Weekend Jukebox/Open Thread

by David Ryan November 18, 2011

As Rufus’s nostalgia seems to have prompted my invitation to join this august company, and Mark has furthered the veer into nostalgia with his History of the LoOG post, this seems appropriate: Sadly, there’s no booze in Rancho Ryan tonight, not even a can of beer. There is a broad, and she’s a hell of [...]

1 comment Read the full article →

A Blogosphere Built for Two (or Three or Four or Five…)

by Mark Thompson November 18, 2011

Updated, 11/19. Please also see my response to James Hanley in the comments for some additional thoughts. Intertubes Intelligence Agency World Factbook Entry for the League of Ordinary Gentlemen Date of Independence : January 20, 2009 Flag: Black Bowler hat on white background Long form name: The League of Ordinary Gentlemen Short form: The League [...]

52 comments Read the full article →

Occupy Wall Street’s Day of Action: the 1% Strikes Back

by Elias Isquith November 18, 2011

While the behavior of the NYPD has been heavy-handed and disproportionate since the Occupy movement’s very start, the violence and lawlessness that characterized the actions of the police yesterday was extraordinary. Thankfully, the countless photos and videos of peaceful protestors — and journalists! — in New York and elsewhere being clubbed, punched, kicked, maced, and [...]

101 comments Read the full article →

In which the rogue becomes in officer and a gentleman.

by David Ryan November 18, 2011

  Hello again gents and ladies, ordinary and otherwise. Apparently my guest posts– here about consumerism, hope and happiness; and here about the (necessarily?) contradictory and frustrating aspects of government regulation – have been well received, and this collegial body has seen fit to invite me into its ranks. (There is a strange kismet about [...]

53 comments Read the full article →

‘The Darkness that Comes Before’ Book Club Part One: The Monk and the Sorcerer

by E.D. Kain November 18, 2011

My apologies out the gate: I meant to post this on Monday, but the conference I attended over the weekend through everything into a tailspin. With that said, let’s begin… The first book in our series opens, appropriately, with a quote from Nietzsche: I shall never tire of underlining a concise little fact which these [...]

10 comments Read the full article →

The League in 2010

by Rufus F. November 17, 2011

If we’re going to pick our favorite posts from the last three years for this League Journal, we’re going to have to remember what was posted in that time. I’ve been making my way through 2010 and I can say that these were some of my favorite posts of 2010. Now, via the comments, we [...]

23 comments Read the full article →

What do you mean “What does it all mean”?

by James K November 17, 2011

Just to mix things up a little I thought I’d take a look at something a little different – the meaning of life.  Well, we all know it’s 42, but a can’t write a full blog post on that, so I’ll talk about this instead: the story of an atheist who converted to Catholicism. Before [...]

106 comments Read the full article →

Standing Legally

by Burt Likko November 17, 2011

I’ve opined several times before that the legal concept of “standing” should be interpreted broadly, particularly in the realm of Constitutional law, with an eye towards encouraging litigation of disputes on their merits. Too often the courts choose to attack a litigant’s standing as a way of avoiding making an actual decision on the merits [...]

5 comments Read the full article →

A song for Thursday

by E.D. Kain November 17, 2011

I’ve probably posted this before but it’s just such a great song. The Once and Future Carpenter, by the Avett Brothers I’m such a dork, I asked Lyle Lovett what he thought of the Avett Brothers because something about how really sincere and friendly those guys are really reminded me of Lovett. He told me he [...]

2 comments Read the full article →

The Technocrat’s Burden

by Elias Isquith November 17, 2011

There’s been a lot of talk about democracy hereabouts during the past month or so. And I think that’s a really cool, good thing. It’s the kind of non-topical conversation that can be hard to find in the blogosphere that the League is often fond of delving into, to its credit. We in America (and [...]

19 comments Read the full article →

You say you want a revolution, well…

by E.D. Kain November 17, 2011

Michael Drew, in the comments: First the knock was that they’d never last.  Now the problem seems to be that they hung on too long and things got a little ripe.  I would counsel patience, Erik (if you are inclined – if you once thought there was potential here).  I think you simply do not [...]

92 comments Read the full article →

Say Goodbye to the Occupation

by Elias Isquith November 16, 2011

Tom Jensen from Public Policy Polling has some new figures about the Occupy movement’s dwindling stature in the public’s eyes: The Occupy Wall Street movement is not wearing well with voters across the country. Only 33% now say that they are supportive of its goals, compared to 45% who say they oppose them. That represents [...]

40 comments Read the full article →

The Limits of Democracy and Populism

by E.D. Kain November 16, 2011

I have to admit, Occupy Wall Street has been irking me lately. Whatever legitimate gripe sparked the movement, the occupations began devolving into a frothy mixture of crime and partying within the last few weeks and along with them whatever hopes the movement had of netting a broader portion of the public. Whether this means [...]

182 comments Read the full article →

An observation

by E.D. Kain November 15, 2011

I am at an airport and the internet is very slow. So far the only site that is not slow, not refusing to load, is The League. I cannot follow any of the many links to the Batman post below. I can’t even load my email. It’s as though the entire internet was frozen save [...]

21 comments Read the full article →

OWS: Time to Grow Up

by Ethan Gach November 15, 2011

(Photo of “An empty Zuccotti Park” by @jimbradysp via Andrew Sullivan) Yesterday, Elias Isquith asked what should occupy Wall Street do next?  His own answer is that OWS should rally against “voter suppression.”  Doing so, Isquith notes, could be a step toward building a more extensive and longer lasting activist infrastructure. It would certainly put the movement [...]

176 comments Read the full article →

Patient BW, DOB 2/16/1971

by Russell Saunders November 14, 2011

[By special request] Patient: Wayne, Bruce DOB: 2/16/1971 Occupation: Industrialist Insurance: Self-pay Emergency Contact: Dick Grayson, XXX-269-9637

112 comments Read the full article →

Epidemiological Politics

by Patrick Cahalan November 14, 2011

MSNBC reports “Pelosi fires back at report on ‘insider trading’”. A television report that questioned whether members of Congress are making investment decisions based on insider information drew a heated response from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, one of those highlighted. A report on CBS’ “60 minutes” on Sunday said Pelosi was among several lawmakers [...]

93 comments Read the full article →

What Should Occupy Wall Street Do Next?

by Elias Isquith November 14, 2011

Responding to the news that, post-OWS, media mentions of income inequality have skyrocketed by nearly 500%, Steve Kornacki says the Occupiers have already won. But victory comes with its own drawbacks: Before the past few months, the national political dialogue seemed dominated by spending cuts and deficit reduction — not job creation, not tax fairness, [...]

152 comments Read the full article →

Democracy, technocrats, and the EU

by Shawn Gude November 12, 2011

The European debt crisis is still threatening to engulf the world. But have no fear, the technocrats are here! From yesterday’s New York Times: The question now, in both Italy and Greece, is whether the technocrats can succeed where elected leaders failed — whether pressure from the European Union backed by the whip of the [...]

45 comments Read the full article →

Crushing our Better Angels – Epilogue

by Tod Kelly November 12, 2011

I wrote a post this week where I took the Presidential debate I had just witnessed, the horrific news coming from Penn State and other thoughts that had been buzzing around inside my melon and tried to make some sense of things. Those that are regular readers and commenters will know that my thoughts in [...]

37 comments Read the full article →

Thy Gingrich Come — and why Romney should go-for-broke in Iowa

by Elias Isquith November 11, 2011

And thus begins the much-predicted, long-awaited, and already dismissed initial forward lurch of Newtmentum: Newt Gingrich has jumped to second place and Herman Cain has dropped to third among Republican voters’ preferences for which candidate should win the GOP presidential nomination, according to a new poll. According to the McClatchy-Marist Poll, Mitt Romney leads the Republican [...]

12 comments Read the full article →

The League, Here and There and Back Again

by E.D. Kain November 11, 2011

I know Mark is working on a history of the League, and Patrick and Tod and others have been doing various posts about where readers and commenters and writers and so forth all hail from and top posts and other grand delvings into the site’s whirligigs. I thought I’d say a few words. Once upon a [...]

36 comments Read the full article →
79 pages