Althouse: Lake Mendota, today.

August 8, 2017

Lake Mendota, today.

Open thread in the comments.

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46 comments:

Original Mike said...: Another day in paradise.; 8/8/17, 6:47 PM
HT said...: In DC there are many different species of police (MPD, Secret Service, metro police, park police, Homeland Security police, and on and on and on), including private security police for different housing complexes, such as public housing. On my way home today, I smelled the ubiquitous marijuana (rank-smelling, not like it was in the 80s and 90s). The dudes smoking were literally 3 feet behind these two young project cops who worked for “Colorado Security Agency.” Just out of curiosity, I asked the cops if they would ever do anything. One of them said it’s not illegal. Huh? One day these private security cops should learn what is and is not legal. I don’t know exactly what they do and do not do, but come on, learn the law. In DC you can possess it, but you cannot smoke pot on the street legally.

It was a beautiful day here, too.; 8/8/17, 6:51 PM
David Begley said...: Predictably media losing its mind and already launching nukes on North Korea. Guam is in flames. Shameful media coverage.; 8/8/17, 6:54 PM
Michael K said...: Hot again in Tucson. I am hoping monsoon season comes back next week.; 8/8/17, 7:07 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: I just want to use this open comments thread to say that I love you.

Don't know why. Just felt like saying it.

That water looks peaceful. I remember a bitchy little New Jersey troll berating Chicago for being built on a lake in stead of an ocean. I gave her a hard time, but if there was any merit to what she was saying at all, Madison's aquatic environs have Chicago's beat anyway. Plus, all the drinking and college-ing that goes on lakeside.

It's a cool town. At least from what I remember. Another place I always thought I'd get back to checking out again sometime but haven't gotten around to yet.; 8/8/17, 7:17 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: Mike wants everyone to know that it's hot in Arizona. In August.

Very useful information. Thanks for the pro-tip.; 8/8/17, 7:18 PM
Fabi said...: Thanks -- I love you too, Ritmo.; 8/8/17, 7:20 PM
tcrosse said...: Having lived in the Lakeshore Dorms, and on the less-fashionable Near-East side of Madison, I've looked at Lake Mendota from both sides now.; 8/8/17, 7:39 PM
Michael K said...: Even the cafe posts are not free from Ritmo and his angry foolishness.

Yes it's hot in Arizona and you are still a fool.; 8/8/17, 7:43 PM
buwaya said...: Did a dump of OECD comparable spending data (PPP, Purchasing Power Parity)
Because the issue came up about what the US is buying for its social-spending dollar.
So, in the major spending categories of Social Expenditure (Pensions (incl forced pensions like SS), disability, unemployment, income supplements, etc. as defined by the OECD, plus Public expenditures on health care (Medicare, Medicaid, State systems, etc.), plus public expenditures on education (Primary to Tertiary), per capita population.
This includes all levels of government.

I chose the major economies of Western Europe, plus Sweden, just because it proverbially does spend so much, plus all the developed Anglophone countries plus Japan.

I am working in text here, so the table probably is going to come out wonky.

Social Exp Health Education Total
United States 11097 9892 2642 23631
Sweden 13484 5488 2940 21912
Ireland 11150 5528 3600 20278
France 13349 4600 2031 19981
Germany 12167 5551 2021 19738
Australia 9362 4708 2298 16369
United Kingdom 9131 4193 2336 15660
Japan 9533 4519 1445 15497
Italy 10634 3391 1363 15388
Canada 7993 4644 2043 14680
Spain 8962 3248 1347 13558
New Zealand 7282 3590 2126 12997

Countries vary a lot, in relative needs - some have significantly older populations than the US calling for more pensions, some have fewer young people to educate, etc. There is more private spending in the US for many of these, such as health care and education, so there is relatively less government burden - in most of these other countries all or nearly all higher ed is a government expense for instance.

But the net is that the US is already at the top of the pile in actual, comparable expenditures.
This is not a new conclusion, this sort of analysis goes back at least a couple of decades in several forms.

In addition this does not address the extreme progressivity of the US tax system overall, that exceeds any of the countries listed - i.e., the US tax burden on the poor and middle class is relatively speaking, extremely low, which should be counted as a relative benefit - but I have not added that because it is tough to display in this simple form.

That the US does not achieve the same levels of "social welfare", or the perception thereof, as, say, Canada, is not due to lack of provision of resources on the part of the taxpayers, but to a combination of inefficiency on the part of the governments involved (Fed, State and local) especially in healthcare, plus public expectations, plus possibly a disproportionately needy populace - I expect that the New Zealanders, say, are much more capable of taking care of themselves, relatively speaking, or have better social connections and can rely on their families, and so cost their governments less.; 8/8/17, 7:44 PM
madAsHell said...: The local TV station has accepted the AP report that Ben Rhodes was acquiring un-masked phone transcripts as well.

Now, I see that this story broke 6 days ago.; 8/8/17, 7:48 PM
madAsHell said...: Hot again in Tucson.

They promised +100 degree temperatures last week in Seattle. Fortunately, the north wind has been pushing the smoke from the Canadian wild fires south. The light from the sun looks like mid-December. The temperatures have been suppressed.; 8/8/17, 7:54 PM
Michael K said...: Ed Rollins was on Lou Dobbs. I can't do the link but Rollins was a Perot guy. He knows that Trump's problem with Congress is the same that Perot would have had. He is not a party creature.

The GOP Congress is playing with fire.; 8/8/17, 7:57 PM
David Baker said...: Seems like Kim is rewriting The Art Of The Deal.; 8/8/17, 8:01 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: Doubling down on that one, Mike?

You still sound angry, much angrier than me. Perhaps there's a surgical procedure you can request that can help with these sorts of emotional problems.

They haven't done it that much in more than a hundred years but you strike me as sort of the nostalgic sort.

Laughing won't kill you. But start slowly. Maybe with a slight smirk, at first. Then a giggle.

"Joy" might not occur for about a hundred years at your pace, but I heard you were supposed to have more time on your hands. ;-); 8/8/17, 8:02 PM
Michael K said...: IBD is getting optimistic.

Trump's newsworthy tweets and a leaky White House, as well as his tough positions on immigration, the border wall, and threats to companies and other countries, may be too much fodder for the media to resist. But get past the bravado, the drama and the trivialities – the fact is that under President Trump, Americans are safer and more prosperous than at any time in the past decade.

The path to greatness is long, but we're heading in the right direction under President Trump.

I'm not as optimistic but that is some evidence that things are going the right way.; 8/8/17, 8:33 PM
FullMoon said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/8/17, 8:44 PM
traditionalguy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/8/17, 8:44 PM
traditionalguy said...: Hail to Ritmo. He is one hell of a commenter. (See, Georgia Tech fight song); 8/8/17, 8:46 PM
CWJ said...: That photo made me think of the Hamm's "TV Rippler" bar sign.; 8/8/17, 8:46 PM
HT said...: Commenter / engineer

Technically both are the same number of syllables but it doesn't really work.; 8/8/17, 8:48 PM
Humperdink said...: Infections leap from one thread to another. I am not sure how. Sit back and watch it grow here. It must be an internet thingy. If there was only a vaccine.; 8/8/17, 9:06 PM
Unknown said...: I love you all too. Even you Trumpists. After all this may be the last chance we have to say it.; 8/8/17, 9:24 PM
Bix Cvvv said...: I thought I got kicked off another website (Lion of the Blogosphere) for my pro-life views but I was wrong, the site did not care! So in the meantime I went to the trouble of signing up for this site!
Lake Mendota is beautiful. Imagine being exiled from Wisconsin for some weird dystopian reason.
Lake Mendota, as you remembered it, and as you know it is, would be the same but maybe even more beautiful.
In real life, people who are very funny learn not to try to make people they do not know laugh too hard in public, because every once in a while - not often, but also not never - someone with that person hears the person laugh in a special way that they had never laughed before (in the presence of the person with the person) and grows jealous and angry. I have seen lots of ugly things in my life but that is one of the ugliest.
If I ever see Lake Mendota again I will try not to make Lake Mendota laugh.
The first exile was hard enough I do not want another.
Ann I like the fact that you were good in school, my "primary care" (as they now call them) doctor got straight As in college (including in organic chemistry) and while she is not the perfect doctor for me nobody would be. She is a wonderful doctor.; 8/8/17, 9:29 PM
320Busdriver said...: Polarizing filter?; 8/8/17, 9:32 PM
Humperdink said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/8/17, 9:49 PM
Humperdink said...: Unknown said: "I love you all too. Even you Trumpists. After all this may be the last chance we have to say it."

Expecting a little mushroom cloud activity? Boy, that would ruin a good eclipse.; 8/8/17, 9:50 PM
chickelit said...: CWJ said...That photo made me think of the Hamm's "TV Rippler" bar sign.

Worth a look back: link

I'm afraid that sound track would be considered racist today -- much like scenes from Disney's "Peter Pan."

Ugh; 8/8/17, 10:20 PM
Marc in Eugene said...: Unfortunately, MadAsHell, your 'south' is our 'here' in Eugene. Cough, cough.; 8/8/17, 11:22 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: Any sumbitch claiming Kaufman, A. parentage ought exhibit some f}^#>~! Tony damn Clifton sometimes.

Tony warnt no damn broke down ponytail-swishing cocksucker talkin' trurtles down, NO!

"I believe in music, I believe in love. I am music, I am love." Andy "Tony Clifton (or maybe Zmuda et al.) Kay Off Man, comedy esquire.; 8/8/17, 11:28 PM
William said...: The reservoir in Central Park is my Lake Mendoza. When you make the turn south on the north end, you get a fine view of the New York skyline and there's a reliable breeze coming off the water. It's one of those places where you don't regret living in NYC.; 8/8/17, 11:28 PM
Bob Ellison said...: You can never have too much fennel seed.; 8/8/17, 11:38 PM
William said...: Back in the Ban The Bomb days, I read a pamphlet by Bertrand Russell. He pointed out that every weapon ever invented was used until it became obsolete. We had a brief pause about our Armageddon anxieties, but they're coming back.......There was a long pause in gas warfare, but it has had a recent revival in Syria. Iran and Iraq used it extensively during their war, I don't know if it will necessarily be North Korea, but my guess is that someday, somewhere nuclear weapons will again be used. Never bet against the wanton stupidity of the human race.; 8/8/17, 11:39 PM
Bob Ellison said...: There will be nukes. Maybe in Asia first. Maybe Iran or Pakistan.

There will be a rush to America. Security and solid money.; 8/8/17, 11:58 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: My thanks to that son of a bitch that posted that Mr. Bookman Seinfeld clip.

That is the voice I have unconsciously used as my voice, the Guildy C, big C conscious see, voice, which might not mean anything, not to fancy-cuff pretty star-on-the-stage public-library scorning hedonists, like you rub shoulders in the evenings with, you here focused on your own private joy-boy fancy-and-I-don't-mean-ketchup private-takings of jumbled clauses...

combined (duh of course) with Harve Presnell acting in "Fargo."

"Jerry I just don't want you mucking this up.

...

That lot is "a lot" of money, lotta money."; 8/9/17, 12:04 AM
Etienne said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/9/17, 12:26 AM
buwaya said...: Very, very interesting news -

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission just reopened proceedings on licensing Yucca Mountain.

A very important step I think in beginning an expansion of nuclear power generation.

This project seemed long-dead, but the facilities are there and arent going away, having been designed for millennia.

Wait for the resumption of controversy on this. Or if there is none, that would be interesting in itself.

Another consequence of the election.; 8/9/17, 12:46 AM
Guildofcannonballs said...: Perhaps it is racism.

Idiocy?

Fear.

It has to be fear. But what does the greatest man alive, Justice Thomas, write or opinionate or say(!) or do to have created, after his length on that specific court, environs such that we can evidentially concur he has confirmed Toobin's (no need to ask, sorry for acknowledging) piece fearmongering Obamacare's fate/destiny in the potential face-off of a (black) Thomas court (capital C if it happens, and we all know it should and ought) versus the historically overturned Obama department of folks that walk around D.C. and speak in the record about something every then and now?

To start, acknowledge the past and living heros among us, acknowledgement of Jesus. All the amazing things to be grateful for, considering human life and humane living a good thing, as Jesus taught us all it is, had a long time to evolve and we are grateful for that, as we are all grateful for the fact recently advancements, achieved in spite of nature's infinite obstacles, of which many but not all are insurmountable, have allowed us that unfathomable not more than a generation or two yonder.; 8/9/17, 12:48 AM
Ralph L said...: Buwaya, no more Sen Reid, TG

Odd that Ireland spends so much more on education. Don't they have Catholic schools?; 8/9/17, 1:24 AM
rehajm said...: Thanks for the coutry data buwaya. I'm going to dig into it later....

and the Yucca news is interesting. All the nuke eng are encouraged if not optimistic. It will be interesting to see how the warming alarmists handle it this time around..; 8/9/17, 5:06 AM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Yucca Mountain, may that be a stick it up your ass to Dean Heller?; 8/9/17, 6:37 AM
Tank said...: William said...

The reservoir in Central Park is my Lake Mendoza. When you make the turn south on the north end, you get a fine view of the New York skyline and there's a reliable breeze coming off the water. It's one of those places where you don't regret living in NYC.

And there's an indoor/outdoor bar/restaurant at the pond.

Our former go to in the summer, even though we lived in NJ.; 8/9/17, 7:22 AM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: Odd that Ireland spends so much more on education. Don't they have Catholic schools?

I believe that their Catholic schools are state-supported. For now. Younger, secular generations are pushing back against this. They were very active in getting same-sex marriage legalized there a couple years ago and are now working on repealing Ireland's extremely restrictive abortion laws.; 8/9/17, 7:42 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Tropical.; 8/9/17, 8:00 AM
Ralph L said...: Has Meadhouse been to the Wisconsin State Fair, or was it someone else?; 8/9/17, 8:10 AM
Michael K said...: "I believe that their Catholic schools are state-supported. "

When I was there a few years ago they had both Catholic and "Protestant," which are the non-Catholic ones.

A friend's wife who lives in Cork had put their kids in the "Protestant " schools because they were less crowded.

There were neighbors who would not talk to her. She didn't care. Her father was a rich South African ship owner. She met her husband on one of her father's ships.; 8/9/17, 8:58 PM