Month: January 2013

Scott Horton highlights a sobering statistic:

On November 20, 2012, President Obama acceded to the demands of schoolchildren across the nation by issuing commutations to Cobbler and Gobbler. The two turkeys were then transported to George Washington’s estate at Mont Vernon to live out the balance of their lives in federal custody. But a dark fact shadows this holiday ritual: as it turns out, Cobbler and Gobbler received the only presidential pardons issued in 2012.  As presidential authority reaches an historic high-water mark, one of the president’s powers is on the verge of atrophying:  that of granting pardons in the interests of justice.

Jacob Sullum compares Obama to past presidents:

Which of Obama’s predecessors managed to make less use of the clemency power during their first terms? According to numbers compiled by P.S. Ruckman Jr., a professor of political science at Rock Valley College in Rockville, Illinois, just three: George Washington, who probably did not have many clemency petitions to address during the first few years of the nation’s existence; William Henry Harrison, who died of pneumonia a month after taking office; and James Garfield, who was shot four months into his presidency and died that September. 

Sam Byford profiles the HAPIfork:

[I]t's a "smart fork" that has a Bluetooth radio, a capacitive sensor, and a vibration motor built-in. The idea is that as you eat, every time the fork touches your mouth it triggers the sensor, measuring your bites on the app. If you eat too quickly, the fork vibrates to tell you to slow down. French creator HAPIlabs' contention is that eating too fast is a cause of weight gain, so a smart fork that slows you down will help you lose weight. The fork pairs with a mobile app that not only tracks every bite, but also when your meal begins, ends, and even how long each "fork duration" is — how long it takes to actually move the food from the plate to your maw.

Alexis Madrigal is not a fan:

This gizmo gets my prize for most horrifying/fascinating thing to come out of the Consumer Electronics Show, which is exploding all over Vegas right now… Would this fork help me eat at a healthier rate? Maybe. But I don't think the tradeoff is worth it. 

Adam Ozimek argues "that there is nothing magical about small businesses":

There are many reasons why big businesses can be better than small businesses. How well would Amazon or Walmart work as a small business? The scale they operate at allows them to lower costs and operate more efficiently, and we would lose this if they were replaced by small businesses. Would our lives be better if instead of Apple we has ten thousand small computer companies? Economies of scale and scope abound in our economy, if they didn’t you wouldn’t observe as many large businesses as you do. Regulations may affect firm size on the margin, but there is no regulation that explains the domination of Apple, Walmart, Amazon, and other big businesses.

We would be better off if people would stop romanticizing small businesses and instead focused on the outcomes that really matter, like economic growth and unemployment.

Today on the Dish, Andrew put into context Hagel’s remarks on gays, continued to skewer Socarides’ opportunism, and marveled at the Log Cabin Republicans’ pact with the anti-Hagel left. He also reconsidered yesterday’s quarrel with Goldblog over AIPAC and  noticed support for the nomination within Israel. Then he defended his position on Brennan’s nomination and joined Waldman in demanding a definition of torture from its apologists. Andrew shook his head at Frum’s case against legalized pot, sparred with Steinglass on the limits of taxation, and recoiled at the standoff between Piers Morgan and Alex Jones.

In foreign coverage, Ali Abuminah bemoaned disproportionate concern over Hagel’s commitment to Israel over other allies, the Leveretts declared that Israel has nothing to fear from a nuclear Iran, and Mike Giglio showed how Syrians refugees are just as brutalized by the harsh winter as by Assad’s regime.  Back on the home front, we questioned whether the Obama campaign had much to do with its own victory and asked whether cliff negotiations have pushed the president toward legally dubious solutions. Keith Hennessey brainstormed some debt-limit strategies on behalf of House Republicans, William Voegeli observed how moderates tend to stoke extremism, David Roberts diagnosed lead exposure as the latest pollution requiring regulation, and we followed up on the one issue Obama ducked during his Reddit interview. 

In assorted coverage, Robert Krulwich taught us how to live weightlessly in space, Seth Stevenson gained a newfound appreciation of the fonts in everyday life, and Mike Bebernes confessed the agony of ADHD. While Californians continued to honor the late Huell Howser, we shuddered at some research on concussions in American football and considered the potential benefits of hecklers. Seth Horowitz explained the rapid-response of the human ear – and we put it to good use by weighing the merits of Les Misérables as music. We also indulged ourselves in a few philosophy puns and an economic limerick about the platinum coin. Lindsay Abrams cautioned how to interpret BMIs and health, while natural storyteller Noah St. John pulled at our heartstrings with a tale of two mothers. We spent a quiet VFYW moment in Georgia, appreciated Expedia’s cool ad, and drifted away to some trip hop during today’s MHB.

Finally, we reminded readers that an independent Dish will still feature about 80% free content, and continued to air reader views about advertising, though the new site will remain ad-free come February. If you haven’t already pitched in to help us fund that venture, you can do so here.

– B.J.

(Image of an Expedia ad via Copyranter)

Jim Burroway warns that "you’ll probably want a tissue" after watching 15-year-old Noah St. John tell a story about his mamas:

Update from a reader:

Long time reader and recent subscriber.  Noah is a student at Berkeley High School where I work. Absolutely amazing kid. Here is another poem from two years ago. And check out this video from when he was just 13 years old.

Ben Paynter reports on the rampant theft of Tide detergent:

It turned out the detergent wasn’t ­being used as an ingredient in some new recipe for getting high, but instead to buy drugs themselves. Tide bottles have become ad hoc street currency, with a 150-ounce bottle going for either $5 cash or $10 worth of weed or crack cocaine. On certain corners, the detergent has earned a new nickname: "Liquid gold." The Tide people would never sanction that tag line, of course. But this unlikely black market would not have formed if they weren’t so good at pushing their product.

Nina Metz and Chris Borrelli pen a "tribute to hecklers":

Chris: If you mean am I pro "audience trolls"? Well, in theory, no… These people are the audience equivalent of those who walk down the street talking on speakerphone. On the other hand, as someone who wants an event to be memorable, yes, I'm pro-heckling. Who isn't? I have seen countless comedians and forgotten most of them. But I remember each and every time I have witnessed a performer get into it with an obnoxious audience…

Nina: Yes! As journalists and critics, we're trained to stand and back observe, so I don't think it's ever occurred to me to heckle. But I am always secretly thrilled (and nervous!) when someone else does it… Heckling throws a big, honking wrench into that and suddenly — record scratch! — here's a moment that feels unpredictable. What is going to happen? I also think heckling separates pros from amateurs. It gauges how fast a comic can think: How funny are you really when your back is against the wall? 

Steve Heisler is unimpressed:

The article is a series of anecdotes that highlight what happens when a critic thinks that if they will themselves hard enough, they will somehow have control over the absolutely uncontrollable.

Heckling will never be an acceptable form of behavior. It happens, yes. Should it? No. Can it be entertaining? Let’s put it this way: In Chicago, and I assume other places, traffic is sometimes caused by gaper’s block, meaning an accident has occurred and even though the damaged cars are off to the side, everyone else slows down to see what happened. One time I got stuck in traffic for an hour, only to pass a bag of clothes. Then things cleared up. I was late to work because someone’s trunk opened on the way to the Salvation Army.

I mean, I was entertained…

(Hat tip: Patton Oswalt)

During his Reddit "Ask Me Anything":

There was one question everyone on the team wished Obama had answered. [Teddy Goff, head of Obama’s digital team,] probably would have selected it, according to his colleagues, but he didn’t see it at the time.

Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck?

In the days following, staffers debated the answer. Most immediately chose the 100 duck-sized horses— they would be easy to stomp on and were, generally, a reflection of the usual day-to-day conflicts in life. A danger to the shins, but possibly manageable. "Ducks are not exactly teeny-tiny—so 100 duck-sized horses (as opposed to duckling-sized horses), while smaller than a miniature pony, are still probably clocking in somewhere around ten pounds each," one Obama official argued. "That’s a lot to kick/throw/battle."

Who would choose to fight a duck the size of a horse? The beak. The wingspan. The ability to defend and attack in the air, on land, and in the water. "Also, lacking a weapon of some kind, how exactly do you defeat it? Wrestling it to the ground seems unlikely. Can you break its legs? Snap a wing?" the official continued. "Yet, it’s just one opponent—you can focus all your energy, attention, and strength on outsmarting it. Maybe it tires easily. Hard to know."

Keith Hennessey proposes a moderate debt-limit strategy for Republicans. Either Obama agrees to spending cuts or the debt ceiling gets passed with mostly Democratic party votes:

The President wants a debt limit increase, but his Democratic colleagues (especially in the House) expect they won’t have to vote for it. By turning this assumption on its head, this strategy would tell the President, “Hey, if you want your terrible policy, you’re going to have to deliver House Democratic votes for it. Good luck with that.” Either the President accepts and Republicans pound on the “Democratic debt limit increase” message every three months, or he agrees to cut spending. Either way, default risk is eliminated. Republicans will look responsible because they will be acting responsibly, and the markets couldn’t care less about which Members take political heat for casting these unpopular votes.

But the Members care. A lot.