"Obama is coming in with enormous popularity. This is his best window of opportunity to impose a gas tax. And he could make it painless: offset the gas tax by lowering payroll taxes, or phase it in over two years at 10 cents…
He's "the embodiment of all that is wrong with America": "On weekends I engage in countryside motoring as if it's a form of exercise. Worse, during the week, despite the availability of mass transit, I almo…
Chief Justice Roberts writes for the majority in Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council . He begins with a quote from George Washington: "To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.&q…
"... because it is so easy to just hop into a bodega or a deli or a 99-cent store to buy anything, anytime, no forethought required." From a NYT article about Mayor Bloomberg's plan to make stores collect a 6¢ tax …
Most megalomaniacal line in Barack Obama's speech last night. We laughed a lot. But, to be fair, he was speaking of looking back after a "long," "difficult" "journey" which he would take "w…
Says the Oberlin professor. The diligent students unplug the refrigerator. And they set a 3-minute time limits on showers: ... Becky Bob-Waksberg, racked up the morning’s longest shower: Eight minutes. The house cuts Ms. Bob-Wak…
Biofuels have been a "terrible mistake," says Paul Krugman . [E]ven on optimistic estimates, producing a gallon of ethanol from corn uses most of the energy the gallon contains. But it turns out that even seemingly “goo…
He's won the Nobel Prize! "His strong commitment, reflected in political activity, lectures, films and books, has strengthened the struggle against climate change,'' the citation said. "He is probably the si…
Says British judge. ADDED: More: In what is a rare judicial ruling on what children can see in the class-room, Mr Justice Barton was at pains to point out that the “apocalyptic vision” presented in the film was politically partis…
Some people think yes, yes. I'm wondering if I want to be one of them. A lot seems to hang on whether his movie was totally honest. It wasn't, but nevertheless, I like Al Gore. Here 's my simulblog of "An Inconv…
The Boston Herald has this about the Larry David-Laurie David breakup: Back in 2004, Larry David, a career crank, told The Atlantic scribe Eric Alterman in an article about Hollywood fund-raising: “I heard nothing about the envi…
Can you scatter cremated remains on public lands? Does it make a difference if you want to make a business out of it. The "Ladies in White" charge $390 for the service. Does it matter if at first the state officials to…
This is a California idea . If I lived there and faced this ban, I'd buy my lightbulbs in another state. It's just too horrible to live in such an ugly glare. People who have no aesthetic sense don't understand how a …
Yes, I'm back from lunch, and I've read the Times. And I've got eight observations: 1. Go ahead and hunt the protected-species eagle, because that fox is cute . 2. Who wouldn't want Hirb to give them a bath? 3.…