If Crunchies Join the Military

Maybe we do need a draft. I don't suppose there's any other way which would lead the greens and organic food people to join the military voluntarily. The greens do have kids, so they study and criticize the school lunch program. (See here for an Asian comparison.) But our men and women in uniform are left with the Iraq 20 and comfort food such as:

Barbecue ribs, fried chicken, rib-eye steak, lobster tails, crab legs, roast turkey, stir-fry, cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings, egg rolls, breaded shrimp, buffalo wings, chili, crepes, pancakes, omelets, waffles, burritos, tacos, quesadillas, quiches, bacon, polish sausages, pulled pork, corned beef hash, milk shakes and smoothies — and that’s just for starters. (From Edge of the West post quoting a Chicago Tribune article, also going back to GI's in Britain in WWII.)

Makes me hungry just to read it. If it's okay for the military to eat comfort food in a war zone, is it okay for the lower class to eat comfort food in their daily life?

Anti-Locavore Pork

Interesting post on Ethicurean justifying the importing of Midwestern pork to west coast restaurants. Arguments:

• smaller carbon footprint (more efficient to ship pork than grain to feed pigs)
• more efficient use of by-products
• superior taste and texture
• more humane (Temple Grandin has worked on Iowa slaughterhouses)

Sort of boils down to the economists "comparative advantage"--CA does grass well, not grain.

(The commenters say: well, Californians shouldn't eat pork. Or they should accept the ununiform taste and texture of pigs fed a varied diet.)

IMHO, if you accept these arguments, you accept something like a global agricultural system, because similar arguments can apply to other foodstuffs.

Immigration and Housing II

Alex Tabarrok at Marginal Revolution joins others in suggesting that encouraging immigrants who want to buy houses in the U.S. is one way out of the recession. That's the same logic as mine, in arguing that anti-immigrant agitation helped take the steam out of the bubble.

In the long run, you only get rid of surplus housing inventory by finding more buyers at the bottom of the ladder or taking the time to work off the surplus.

Your Friendly Bureaucrat Coming to on YouTube

NextGov has a piece today saying YouTube and the Feds are near an agreement to permit Feds to post videos. The next step will be requiring all Federal bureaucrats to be personable and video-ready.

Should I start a pool on how long it will take for FSA to post its first video?

Us Tightwad Seniors

Just got an email from the Cinema Arts theater in Fairfax City--the manager uses it to flog his coming attractions. Here's a line:

Our $4 ticket price for folks over 60 (which I found out today folks over 62 are seniors at the E Street Cinema in DC) has been wonderful for attendance, but nobody buys any snacks.

I feel guilty but my wife and I never buy snacks at the theater.

Labor Mobility and Immigration in a Recession

One of the arguments some economists (like Gary Becker) make against the stimulus bill is that it funds work in areas which are short-staffed, and not in areas of unemployment. (That's roughly put.) The LA Times has an article on farm labor, yesterday, which starts:

What a difference a bad economy makes. The collapse of the construction industry and a slump in the restaurant and food service sector have sent thousands of people back to looking for work on California farms, which not so long ago were hurting for workers.

Apparently there's some mobility in labor at the lower end. I don't know why this surprises me, but it did.

IT People Are Human Too

Technology Review interviews the woman touted to be Obama's Chief Technology Officer, Padmasree Warrior, currently Cisco's CTO:

"TR: But can you get rid of skips in voice calls and jitters in streaming video?

PW: Quality of service continues to be important. One of the things we believe, that we've put a lot of effort into...

TR: Hello?

PW: (a minute later) Hi, sorry, I didn't plug in my cell phone last night!"

Some nominees forget to pay all their taxes, some forget their cell phones. The problems a new President faces. As an increasingly forgetful senior, I suggest a blanket amnesty for all memory lapses.

HFCS Debunked, It's Sugar Says the Times

Jane Brody in today's NYTimes says "sugar is sugar is sugar" and it's bad for you, regardless of whether it's high fructose or not. The column is the first of two.

High fructose corn syrup makes a convenient target for those who would blame our ills on big business, but the reality is we love sweets.

Foursquare for Morality

That's John Phipps, who argues it's in his interest to honor his rental contracts:

All told, 2009 offers a unique chance for renters to differentiate from many competitors. And contract fulfillment is a tactic at least as practical as meticulous roadside maintenance or colorful newsletters.

So how about this alternative guideline for 2009: A deal’s a deal.

Stimulus and Broadband

The Daily Yonder notes that the House and Senate both allot money for rural broadband. Except they give it to different agencies, House to USDA, Rural Development and the Senate to Commerce, NTIS.