a Better Bubbleโ„ข

Kevin Drum ๐Ÿ•ธ

Lunchtime Photo

2 years 10 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 10 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 10 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 10 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 11 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

Eunuchs and the afterlife in medieval China

2 years 11 months ago
Things I didn't know until last night: Buddhism had first arrived in China during the Han....Eunuchs proved enthusiastic converts, comforted by the promise of reincarnation; they carried their severed parts, their "precious," băobèi, in a special container so that they could be reunited with them in the next life. OK then.
Kevin Drum

Hereโ€™s an idea for reforming the Electoral Count Act

2 years 11 months ago
The Electoral Count Act is a 19th century relic that provides rules for how to count electoral votes in presidential elections. Unfortunately, it's so vague and poorly drafted that, in practice, it's close to worthless. The reason it's back in the news these days is obvious: after the debacle of 2020—and with a potentially worse ...continue reading "Here’s an idea for reforming the Electoral Count Act"
Kevin Drum