Over at Greater Greater Washington, Matt Johnson seems to accidentally make a argument for Daylight Saving Time: In 1895, George Vernon Hudson first proposed Daylight Saving Time, the idea was to make use of an hour of morning daylight which people tended to sleep through. In the modern era, this was thought to save energy by reducing the need for household lighting in the evenings (the lights would not have been on in the mornings because residents were still asleep). Studies by the Department of Transportation and the National Bureau of Standards in the mid-1970s indicated that...
Continue reading...United States
Enjoy your brand new Parliament!
So, I read Pop’s post on bipartisanship with interest, and I just wanted to add a comment or two. I mostly want to say that I think Pops is mostly right, but doesn’t go far enough. It’s true that it’s good to have varying viewpoints in the discussion, and he’s right to say that at least to this point that viewpoint has come from conservative Democrats rather than liberal Republicans, but I don’t think that’s due to some coincidence. The fact is that in the initial votes in the Senate and House, the controlling vote was owned...
Continue reading...A two-party system
If the recent debate over health care reform has taught us anything, it is that the U.S. does still have a functional two-party system. The two parties, however, are not the Democrats and Republicans, but the Democrats and the Democrats. This is not to suggest that his is necessarily a bad thing—for the Democratic Party or America. The Republicans may have a substantial 41-member minority in the Senate, but being tied to their strategy of obstruction, just saying no, and refusing to cooperate or even compromise, have rendered themselves utterly and completely irrelevant. Consequently, the two teams...
Continue reading...and I don't like Star Wars
Every year, when the weather is just warm enough to ditch the jacket and sweater for a few hours in the middle of the day, I get nostalgic for bicycling. I was never a competitive biker, or even particularly good at it, but I love it. It has been a few years since I lived in a bike-friendly city, but D.C. looks promising. This post was going to lament the lack of bike lanes in the city, but today the Post reported that L, I , additional bits of 15th and parts of Pennsylvania Ave. are getting...
Continue reading...Happy Gay Marriage Day, D.C.
Today’s the day that equal marriage really begins in D.C., and the Associated Press predicts that up to 150 same-sex couples are eligible today to wed. So, the best from us at V+V to all of you in D.C. finally being able to say your vows to those you love today. (Same-sex marriage was made legal last Wednesday, but there is a three-day waiting period from applying for a marriage license to getting one. Hence, today’s the first day.) Update: DCist has more about the first few same-sex wedding around the city today: The Post reported earlier that...
Continue reading...Process stories
Interestingly enough, today’s New York Times front page contains only two mentions of “health care.” One is a letter to the editor, while the other is a link to a Paul Krugman blog post. I mention this, mostly because I discovered this odd fact while looking for yesterday’s piece which did appear on the front page (as well as page A1 of the print version): “Obama Turns Up the Volume in Health Care Bid.” And I mention this because the story, probably the most important story of the day on an issue that is arguably the most...
Continue reading...
Recent Comments