1. Rise of the (Office) Machines
A piece from the Economist that gives voice to murmured discussions I have heard in various circles about how the Great Recession has spurred businesses to replace employees with software for the sake of cost and efficiency, and that those jobs are unlikely to return if the technology proves in the long term to be an improvement over flesh and blood white collar drones. The article cites a figure of roughly 50 million jobs (which equates to about 40% of all employment) that could reasonably be performed by computer software. The white collar software is certainly here to stay, and the market will either have to self-correct by reallocating those replaced into other areas or we will see a further, steady decline in US birth rates and population growth. We'll also have to figure out how to configure these white-collar software programs to experience a lack of fulfillment, crushing regret, and compulsive sycophancy.
2. Cop Cameras
I don’t have a problem with cops being fitted with cameras so long as a couple of very firm rules apply. The first, cops have to turn the cameras off when they enter a private residence, place of business or other private property, unless in the case of hot pursuit when turning the camera off is not reasonable due to the intensity of a confrontation or the officer’s personal safety. Any video taken in any of these circumstances would be inadmissible evidence. The second, police videos taken with these cameras absolutely must be made available to defendants and plaintiffs in both criminal and civil cases.
3. Caution on Cain
This article echoes a lot of my major concerns about Herman Cain as a general election candidate (apart from the “character” argument that says just because vague sexual harrassment charges have been levelled against him by women likely sympathetic to Obama that he is a weaker candidate on account). His clear ignorance on foreign policy and his major fumbles on such fundamental issues as abortion are disconcerting enough, but his repeated willingness to “fake it” through these issues during interviews rather than either admit he isn’t up to speed on them from the outset or more expertly dodging them is cause for additional concern. And while I’m no fan of career politicians, I think in the case of the presidency, given the constitutional responsibilities apportioned to the office, it’s pretty important we have someone with at least some public office experience, preferably in an executive capacity. That having been said, I would still vote for Herman Cain over Barack Obama any day of the week (though I’m getting pretty sick and tired of having to hold my nose when I cast my ballot every four years).
4. North Carolina Eugenics Victims
A bit of a haunting history lesson about what happens when governments, state or federal, are given license to make decisions regarding your health or your person, with or without your consent. While liberals rightly decry this dark chapter in history for its state-sanctioned racism, I imagine they don't get too outraged over the concept that government may claim a "public interest" can be served by a measure of control over your body (in this case, contemporary concepts of racial purity that of course are ludicrous to modern society), considering they overwhelmingly support the current delivery vehicle that finds a vested "public interest" in reduced health care costs warrants such state purview.
