a Better Bubbleโ„ข

Kevin Drum ๐Ÿ•ธ

Friday Cat Blogging โ€“ 25 February 2022

2 years 8 months ago
Charlie, like most cats, adores it when we change the bedsheets. He zooms around as we wave the sheets over his head and attacks anything that comes his way. In this photo he is just about to pounce on something, but I don't know what. Apparently I stopped taking pictures before he made his move.
Kevin Drum

Lunchtime Photo

2 years 8 months ago
After years of saying that someday I should go up to LA and check out their new subway, I finally did it this week. It's not so new anymore, but better late than never, amirite? I was mainly interested in taking pictures of the various pieces of artwork that adorn some of the stations, and ...continue reading "Lunchtime Photo"
Kevin Drum

New poll says a third of Americans believe racism has never been a big problem

2 years 8 months ago
A new poll from CBS News shows that "book banning" is pretty unpopular: a whopping 85% of the country thinks it's wrong to ban books for ideological or racial reasons—though I note that the pollsters didn't bother to ask about banning books due to sexual content or adult language. Liberals are touting this as evidence ...continue reading "New poll says a third of Americans believe racism has never been a big problem"
Kevin Drum

Lunchtime Photo

2 years 8 months ago
I don't know what kind of tree this is, but the red leaves were pretty so I took a picture of them. Anybody want to help ID this bit of Louisiana swamp flora?
Kevin Drum

BREAKING NEWS: Disney hates real America

2 years 8 months ago
Houston, we have a problem: Disneyland’s Electrical Parade is ditching its patriotic float. Why that’s a good thing The most notable change appears to be happening with the Main Street Electrical Parade, which is doing away with an America-first finale that had survived a number of decades and featured a closing stars-and-stripes float of the ...continue reading "BREAKING NEWS: Disney hates real America"
Kevin Drum

Lunchtime Photo

2 years 8 months ago
This is a busker on the Seal Beach pier with Long Beach harbor in the background. As it happens, though, she wasn't actually busking. She played her violin for a few minutes just to attract attention, and then put it away. Her real business was selling small paintings: portraits, elaborate letterforms, mythical animals, and so ...continue reading "Lunchtime Photo"
Kevin Drum

Russia invades Ukraine

2 years 8 months ago
Here are the headlines today about Ukraine: LAT: Russia orders troops into eastern Ukraine as fear of war grows NYT: Putin’s Order Sending Forces to Separatist Enclaves Is Condemned at U.N. WaPo: Putin orders troops to eastern Ukraine WSJ: Putin Orders Deployment of Troops to Breakaway Regions in Ukraine Guardian: Russia strongly condemned at UN ...continue reading "Russia invades Ukraine"
Kevin Drum

Lunchtime Photo

2 years 8 months ago
This is Silverado Creek at the southernmost point of Silverado Road where it leads into Silverado Canyon. I think there's a movie called Silverado, isn't there? It should have been filmed here.
Kevin Drum

Raw data: Reliability of the US electricity distribution system

2 years 8 months ago
Is our electricity distribution system getting less reliable? Yes and no: If you look just at day-to-day operations, nothing much has changed. Power outages are slightly worse, but only by a little bit. But when you count "major events," the duration of power outages has nearly doubled over the past decade or so. Why? Is ...continue reading "Raw data: Reliability of the US electricity distribution system"
Kevin Drum

How many excess retirements did the pandemic create?

2 years 8 months ago
Remember the great worker shortage? It's why there are so many job openings going begging. But where did all the workers go? Nobody seems to know. Perhaps the explanation is simpler than we think. Maybe it's just that a whole lot of people retired during the pandemic: That's from Miguel Faria-e-Castro of the St. Louis ...continue reading "How many excess retirements did the pandemic create?"
Kevin Drum