- Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)
- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
- Democratic House Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
- Former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-NE)
- Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D)
- House Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn (D-SC)
Now if they would put their words into action and actually vote on something…
About half of our world-leading prison population is in jail for non-violent drug offenses. Americans have also been arrested for handing out free food in a park. Mothers in Ohio and Connecticut were jailed for enrolling their kids in out-of-district schools. As of 2003 in California there were 344 individuals serving sentences of 25 years or more for shoplifting as a third offense, in many cases after two non-violent offenses.
How does the market deal with this steady tide of petty crime? It strives for more. The new trend of private prisons is dependent on maintaining a sizable prison population to guarantee profits, with no incentive for rehabilitation.
As the number of inmates has surged, the people who devastated countless American lives “get out of jail free.” The savings and loan fraud cost the nation between $300 billion and $500 billion, about 100 times more than the total cost of burglaries in 2010. The financial system bailout has already cost the country $3 trillion. Goldman Sachs packaged bad debt, sold it under a different name, persuaded ratings services to label it AAA, and then bet against their own financial creation by selling it short. Other firms accused of fraud and insider trading were Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns, Bank of America, Countrywide Financial, and Wells Fargo. The New York Times reported in 2008 that the Justice Department had postponed the bribery or fraud prosecutions of over 50 corporations, choosing instead to enter into agreements involving fines and ‘monitoring’ periods.
More filibuster facts:
“Between 1840 and 1900, there were 16 filibusters. Between 2009 and 2010, there were more than 130.”
“At the time of the country’s founding, seven of the 13 states, representing 27 percent of the population, could command a majority in the Senate. Today, with the filibuster, 21 of the 50 states, representing 11 percent of the population, can muster the 41 votes to stop a majority in the Senate.”
“The filibuster was created by mistake. In 1806, the Senate, on the advice of Aaron Burr, tried to clean up its rule book, which was thought to be needlessly complicated and redundant. One change it made was to delete something called “the previous question” motion. That was the motion senators used to end debate on whatever they were talking about and move to the next topic. Burr recommended axing it because it was hardly ever used. Senators were gentlemen. They knew when to stop talking. That was the moment the Senate created the filibuster. But nobody knew it at the time. It would be three more decades before the first filibuster was mounted.”
Column here.
Steve Wozniak wants Apple to open up its culture: The co-founder of the company, who is a huge Zuckerberg fan, thinks that the company’s secretive culture should become a thing of the past, though it’s hard to sell that considering how successful they are these days. “I think that Apple could be just as strong and good and be open,” the Woz said while speaking in Sydney, “but how can you challenge it when a company is making that much money?” He emphasizes, however, that the openness shouldn’t come at the cost of the pristine quality of the products the company sells. (photo by Campus Party Colombia)
One of the things we’re already hearing a lot about, and will continue to hear about until the GOP convention, is the debate - or rather, guessing - over who Romney will pick as his Vice Presidential nominee.
Every four years, various members of the media ask the same old questions, one of which is whether or not certain VP candidates will help the nominee to win particular states, specifically the home state of the VP nominee.
In May 1989, Robert Dudley and Ronald Rapoport revealed some interesting statistics about the perceived importance of regional importance in selecting a Vice Presidential candidate - they noted that between 1952 and 1980, only 1 ticket did not show regional balance and between 1884 and 1984 only 5 out of 52 tickets were not regionally balanced (American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 537-540). Their study showed that in these elections the VP nominee only made a difference in 3 elections (1892, 1968 & 1980), and thus was not a significant factor in voter choice. Lee Sigelman and Paul Wahlbeck came to a similar conclusion in 1997 (American Political Science Review, Vol. 91, No. 4, pp. 855-864).
Recent polls would seem to confirm these studies. A poll by PPP showed that Romney received no bounce in Florida with Rubio hypothetically on the ticket (of course, PPP is a Democratic polling firm, and there have been accusations about bias in the past, but they have been fairly accurate during this primary cycle). Similarly, recent polling by Quinnipiac University shows that Ohio Senator Rob Portman would offer no help to Romney in this crucial swing state (Sources: CNN, Wall Street Journal).
Combined with this Politico article, it looks like no one should get too excited about Romney’s VP pick. “Slow and steady wins the race” seems to be his motto.
Still, he could at least do us a favor and pick someone who can read a speech. I could use some entertainment when I force myself to watch the GOP convention.
Student debt at colleges and universities across the nation: a pretty stunning visualization from the New York Times.
good:
According to a new Pew study, increasing your earning potential may require literally moving on up: If you aim to climb the income ladder in the United States, your best bet might be to move north and east—and definitely stay out of the south.
Happy birthday, Mark Zuckerberg. The Facebook CEO turns 28 today. Zuckerberg is exactly half the age of the average CEO on the S&P 500, Associated Press reports.
(Via Chicago Tribune)
