Alternatives to Traditional Congressional Hearing Formats

When invited to testify before Congress, you might expect a formal hearing atmosphere. Most people are familiar with the traditional hearing format that involves a single committee conducting a formal hearing. However, there are several other hearing formats that are used by congressional committees. photo credit: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff One of … Read more

Officer Bubbles

Back at the G20 meetings in July in Toronto, there were numerous stories of police overreacting and arresting protesters with little reason whatsoever. Perhaps the most noteworthy story that got attention was the story of “Officer Bubbles,” the name given to a police officer, named Adam Josephs, who threatened to arrest a woman for assault … Read more

Real Estate, Title Insurance, and the Torrens Title System

Uh oh… If you thought the real estate market was bad, just wait until you can’t get title insurance. This mess is making the Torrens Title system look better by the minute. photo credit: mmatins 6. Selling REOs & Foreclosed Properties: Relative to the economy, here is the greatest concern: Banks are sitting on millions … Read more

Correlation and Causation

Unfortunately, our intuition can lead us astray when it comes to distinguishing between causality and correlation. For example, eating breakfast has long been correlated with success in school for elementary school children. It would be easy to conclude that eating breakfast causes students to be better learners. It turns out, however, that those who don’t … Read more

Christopher Hitchens v. Lawrence Wilkerson at William & Mary

http://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2010/hitchens,-wilkerson-debate-middle-east-policy-123.php Noted journalist Christopher Hitchens squared off against College of William and Mary government professor Lawrence Wilkerson on U.S. Middle East policy Monday night. . . . He said that America’s current role as a power broker was unsustainable, and that the nation cannot afford a war with Iran. Hitchens criticized what he viewed as … Read more

Police and Prosecutors Don’t Lie – Do They?

Police in Okaloosa County, Florida wrongly arrest and imprison a man for three days after mistaking his heart medication for cocaine. One of those notorious field tests, which have mistaken everything from shampoo to tea to soy milk to chocolate to billiards chalk for illicit drugs, somehow came back positive on George Funti’s nitroglycerin. But … Read more

We No Speak Americano – Hand Dance

  We No Speak Americano ft. Cleary & Harding   Hat tip Dean’s World “Hand dancers Suzanne Cleary and Peter Harding are a YouTube hit,” Los Angeles Times, September 14, 2010 “Irish dance takes a leap into the future,” Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales), February 27 2010 Up & Over It, Irish Dancers Suzanne Cleary & … Read more

“Crony Capitalism” and Food Trucks

Crony capitalism is a pejorative term describing an allegedly capitalist economy in which success in business depends on close relationships between businesspeople and government officials. It may be exhibited by favoritism in the distribution of legal permits, government grants, special tax breaks, and so forth. Crony capitalism is believed to arise when political cronyism spills … Read more