Rules of the market is the mantra I have always advocated, rather than lumping everything together as ‘free’. Cost reduction was the key benefit claimed by privatization. We conduct a meta analysis of all published econometric studies of water and waste production in cities since 1965. Little support is found for a link between privatization […]

The slow arm of the law in relation to the grand scale of privitization of government bureaucracy stands in sharp contrast to rules about wiretapping and such. Some of this is understandable, but I have seen no proposals. If this is to be the practice, are’nt we a little slow? As recently as Oct. 3, […]

WebMD carried this warning about certain foods. Oct. 10, 2007 — Check your freezer for Banquet or generic store-brand turkey or chicken not-ready-to-eat pot pies with “P-9” printed on the side of the package. If you have any those pot pie products, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says to throw them out or don’t […]

American Prospect has published an article by Robert Kuttner on parallels between 1929 and 2007. In researching the book, I devoted a lot of effort to reviewing the abuses of the 1920s, the effort in the 1930s to create a financial system that would prevent repetition of those abuses, and the steady dismantling of the […]

National Council of Teachers of Englishgives awards for double-speak, an Orwell, just like an Oscar only better. The NCTE Public Language Award Committee is now seeking nominations for this year’s Doublespeak Award, which is given to a glaring example of deceptive language by a public spokesperson. The words must originate from an American. While I […]

I have read that American Conservative magazine published by Pat Buchanan will release this issue Oct. 8 on General Patraeus. Whether or not it actually is published this way, this is just an alert for readers to watch what happens in the media when General Patraeus is named with no respect. Sort of a random […]

OMB Watch has posted a notice on something we rarely think about, and take for granted. The Raw Sewage Overflow Right-to-Know Act (H.R. 2452), introduced by Reps. Tim Bishop (D-NY) and Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) on May 23, requires sewage treatment facilities to notify the public, public health officials and any other downstream “affected entities” when […]

Bureau of Public Debt is something I missed in the news. If you would like to help reduce the national debt, make your check payable to the Bureau of the Public Debt. In the memo section, note that it’s a gift to reduce the Debt Held by the Public. Mail your check to: Attn Dept […]

What is the SPP US and SPP Canada? Many agreements in one. One point of view is the notion of The Shock Doctrine. The timing of The Shock Doctrine’s release in Canada is very relevant here because it just hosted a summit with George Bush and Mexican President Calderon to meet with Prime Minister Steven […]

The Register provides an update to the tiny Antigua case. The case originated back in 2003 after the prosecution of Jay Cohen, an expatriate American who ran a sportsbook out of Antigua called the World Sports Exchange, and ended up doing time in a federal prison – in Las Vegas, of all places – for […]