“There’s always one person at work who drinks on the job and still manages to stay employed. Might as well be you.”
— Tim Siedell
Hi, I'm Ilya Gerner.
I think public policy is fascinating. I write about it here.
Among other professional and amateurish activities, I'm a daily contributor to Comedy Central's Indecision
We can be Twitter pals.
You can also reach me at ilyagerner [at] gmail [dot] com.
Political Language
Via The Dish, full study results here:
We investigate… how macro- and micro-level religious effects shape individuals’ reports of premarital and extramarital sex. We look at how identifying with one of the major world religions—Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, or Judaism—and living in a nation with a Muslim culture shape the likelihood of sex outside of marriage.
This chart is based on a survey of married individuals in developing countries. Interesting that “no religion” isn’t correlated with an especially high level of premarital sexytime in the developing world.
“HB633 specifies [that] any member of the general assembly who proposes legislation that further restricts an individual’s right to bear arms will be guilty of a class D felony.”
— The legislative summary of a bill sponsored by a Republican lawmaker in Missouri’s General Assembly. It’s a legalese representation of a situation in which the 2nd Amendment takes out the 1st Amendment with a machine gun and then pees on its lifeless body.
![Via Psychology Today, the “[m]ap depicts the most frequently-cited location where a Missed Connection occurred, by region. All data are based on each state’s 100 most recent Missed Connections posted on Craigslist at the time of data collection.”
What in the world is happening in Indiana and its “At Home” mixed connections?](http://24.media.tumblr.com/d1c1e401e4f31826a19ddb2b69140c74/tumblr_migx0eEyLI1qd0p40o1_500.jpg)
Via Psychology Today, the “[m]ap depicts the most frequently-cited location where a Missed Connection occurred, by region. All data are based on each state’s 100 most recent Missed Connections posted on Craigslist at the time of data collection.”
What in the world is happening in Indiana and its “At Home” mixed connections?
Most I choo-choo choose you cards are hackneyed. This card wins Valentine’s Day. (h/t Tony Heyl)
“A Smart Politics review of the 92 orally delivered State of the Union Addresses since George Washington finds that each of President Obama’s addresses rank in the Bottom 10 on the Flesch-Kincaid readability test, with his 2013 address written at a 9th grade level.”
—
Via the Smart Politics blog.
The grades are for reading level of the language, not the intelligence of the speaker or the quality of the content. Still interesting to see both members of Congress and presidents gradually reduce the grade level equivalents of their speeches.
“No one has a right to make fun of anyone. You have a right to speak, but no one has a right to disparage another person. It’s not a First Amendment right,” said state rep. Ernie Smith (D-GA), the subject of the above photoshop and very poor sport.
Pope Benedict Gives Up Papacy for Lent
We need a Nate Silver [however many voting Cardinals there are] blog for the Papal Conclave. I believe 77 votes formed the 2/3rd majority in the Papal Conclave in 2005.
How many under-80 Cardinals do we have now?
I’m still on a post-U.S. election low and need my fix.
The Onion: Hungover Energy Secretary Wakes Up Next To Solar Panel
And Secretary Steven Chu’s response, via his Facebook page, winning the day:
I just want everyone to know that my decision not to serve a second term as Energy Secretary has absolutely nothing to do with the allegations made in this week’s edition of the Onion. While I’m not going to confirm or deny the charges specifically, I will say that clean, renewable solar power is a growing source of U.S. jobs and is becoming more and more affordable, so it’s no surprise that lots of Americans are falling in love with solar.
“
Coeur d’Alene Sen. John Goedde, chairman of the Idaho Senate’s Education Committee, introduced legislation Tuesday to require every Idaho high school student to read Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” and pass a test on it to graduate from high school.
When Sen. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, asked Goedde why he chose that particular book, Goedde said to laughter, “That book made my son a Republican.”
”—
Bill Requires All Idaho Kids to Read “Atlas Shrugged”
We have liberaltarians and Bleeding Heart Libertarians and Anarcho-Capitalists. What’s the label for people who express their libertarianism through government-mandated reading of Ayn Rand?
“First World Problems”
This puts life in a different perspective.
I’m not sure what to think about this. On the one hand, sure, those of us fortunate enough to live in prosperous countries complain about the pettiest of things. Everyone should be so lucky as to be able to moan about spotty broadband download speeds or long lines for Sunday brunch or bad airline food. It’s important to have perspective.
But I’m also attracted to the Teju Cole critique that first appeared as a series of tweets and has since been endlessly reblogged on Tumblr:
I don’t like this expression “First World problems.” It is false and it is condescending. Yes, Nigerians struggle with floods or infant mortality. But these same Nigerians also deal with mundane and seemingly luxurious hassles. Connectivity issues on your BlackBerry, cost of car repair, how to sync your iPad, what brand of noodles to buy: Third World problems. All the silly stuff of life doesn’t disappear just because you’re black and live in a poorer country. People in the richer nations need a more robust sense of the lives being lived in the darker nations. Here’s a First World problem: the inability to see that others are as fully complex and as keen on technology and pleasure as you are.
There are, about 600 million mobile phone subscribers in Africa. Some are forced to recharge their phones at public charging stations, but I bet plenty of others are annoyed when the recharge “cord doesn’t reach the bed.”
Also, the problems highlighted by the video reel — substandard housing, general poverty — ARE First World Problems. They’re just not the problems of middle- and upper- class people who reside in the “First World.” I’d feel better about this meme/hashtag if it was called #privilegeproblems or something else that acknowledged the diversity of experience in both rich and poor countries.
Or maybe over-thinking a video meant to raise money for clean water projects is the ultimate #firstworldproblem.
Tim Geithner will be writing a book about his time at the Treasury Department. I readily admit that others had the better angle here:
@carney: AIG Lay Dying #geithnerbooktitles #imdone
@williamalden A Farewell to ARMs #geithnerbooktitles
@kevinroose Tuesdays With Moral Hazard. #GeithnerBookTitles
@marydchilds: Bridge Loans Diary #geithnerbooktitles
@SconsetCapital: The World According To TARP. #GeithnerBookTitles
Important Moments in Watching the Super Bowl With Parents
Me: One of the players on the Baltimore Ravens was accused of murder, but there wasn’t enough evidence to convict him.
Dad: O.J.?
…
Mom: Oh, this is Density’s Child.
Me: Desti—
Mom: Densit— ah, Destiny’s Child. Her husband, Easy, got them to perform with her.
…
Dad, in moments before, during, and after a replay: Is this happening…now? Did this already happen? I thought this was live.
…
Dad: [mentions score that should be unlikely, given how points are awarded]
Me: No, there’s basically no way to score two-points except right after a touchdown.
Ravens awarded two points for a safety.
Dad: Who’s the expert now?
