Month: May 2010

Although the country is adding jobs again, for the moment at least, Daniel Indiviglio reminds us of the dismal long-term unemployment rate:

In the early 1980s, the national unemployment rate actually rose to 10.8% — higher than the max of 10.1% this recession hit in October. Yet, during the early-80s recession the percentage of unemployed who remained jobless for at least 27 weeks topped off at just 26% — far lower than the 46% in April.

The reason for this high duration is likely due to the structural unemployment caused by some industries undergoing significant changes during this recession. Construction and anything else real estate related, in particular, stand out. The unemployment in most recessions is largely cyclical in nature.

Just to say that now I’ve absorbed the full beard backlash – and backlash-lash among some in the emails – I need to add a sentence: It’s my face and I’ll grow whatever I want on it. The dye thing? I’m betting I’ll soon relent the way I stopped using minoxydil after a while. A man takes a little while to adapt to reality.

Until then, Darwin’s the man. Or as Huxley once put it (Dish readers know everything):

Christ-like in my behaviour,

Like every good believer,

I imitate the Saviour,

and cultivate a beaver.

That’s a joke, by the way.

A reader writes:

Isn't it time that Republicans like Tom Campbell start calling out Palin and other Republican tea-partiers as the true RINOs?

That's when it will get interesting. I give it till 2013.

Research 2000/Kos:

      Approve  Disapprove  Not Sure

ALL      48        44         8

DEM      10        88         2
REP      85        11         4
IND      37        41        22

WHITE    58        35         7
LATINO    9        81        10
BLACK     4        83        13

The Economist/YouGov also polled the law and finds slightly different results:

At least most supporters aren't kidding themselves—71% of Americans believe it is likely that Hispanic citizens will be questioned by police because of the new law.

Here's an interesting fact: 29% of Hispanics approve of the Arizona law. Just over half (51%) strongly disapprove of it.

Thai pro-government demonstrators dance and sing during a small rally at the Victory Monument in Bangkok on May 6, 2010.Thailand's embattled premier Abhisit Vejjajiva said on May 6, the lower house of parliament will be dissolved in September, paving the way for November polls in a bid to end a crippling political crisis. Photo by Pedro Ugarte/AFP/Getty Image.

Michael Knights calls it for Iran:

Iran has successfully stymied the development of a strong nationalist government in Baghdad for at least another four years — the ultimate payoff for its virtuoso performance in manipulating Iraqi politics. With the U.S. government's horizon limited to its military withdrawal, an exhausted Washington does not appear capable of making such fine distinctions and will likely greet the formation of a new Iraqi government, any government, with relief.

Orr reviews Iron Man 2. He thinks Downey was overshadowed by the suit:

[T]he movie gradually succumbs to the excesses that typically adhere to the genre: too many characters, too many storylines, too much CGI…Iron Man 2 is a perfectly diverting action film—particularly following the extreme clunkers of last season—but it's a reminder that Downey is at his best when given, as he was to a substantial degree last time out, a one-man show. I, for one, will keep my fingers crossed for … Man 3: Tony Stark Unplugged.