2012

11 posts

QOTD: What was your favorite song from 2012?

After looking at the end of the year Billboard list from 2012, I decided, there wasn’t very much I liked in 2010 and 2011 (though, in 2010 I literally listened to Jamie Lidell’s Compass for an entire year). The top 3 songs at the end of the year were Goyte’s “Someone That I Used to Know” Carly Rae Jepson’s “Call Me Maybe” and “We are Young” by fun. Katy Perry and Adele both have several songs on that list. Continue reading

The Most Talked About Political Moments of 2012

2012 politics

2012 was filled with hot topic political moments. From the 2012 election and financial woes, to domestic and international issues, we’ve seen a wide swath of commentary, posturing, and all out batshittery that’s filled up the airwaves, the cable news channels, and made for much Daily Show fodder.

Let’s take a look at some of the most talked about. Continue reading

Retroactive Retirement is the New Plausible Deniability

RMoney’s campaign is making increasingly desperate statements defending, denying, and obfuscating his apparent continued stewardship of Bain Capital from 1999 to 2002 and trying to turn the ship around before it hits an iceberg. On CNN’s State of the Union yesterday, Romney adviser Ed Gillespie told Candy Crowley that the presidential candidate had “retroactively retired” from Bain Capital. Gillespie was asked to clarify the 1999 Press Release from Bain announcing that Romney would be taking a part-time leave of absence to manage the 2002 Winter Olympics. Continue reading

Mitt Romney Needs a Running Mate

Few decisions are as important to a presidential candidacy than the choice of a running mate. A Vice President can make or break… okay, mostly break, (I’m looking, and laughing, at you, Sarah.), a campaign. There are several names starting to attach to the Romney campaign, but there are oh-so-many options. Let’s help!

Who do you think Romney should name and what would they bring to the Republican campaign? Continue reading

Why Meryl Streep Won’t Win An Oscar Next Year

Yes, she’s been nominated sixteen times and won twice but that means she is fourteen times a loser. However, there are a few things that might be the cause of her twenty-eight year drought. Maybe other nominated performances are better than hers? Maybe politics gets in the way? Or MAYBE her performances just aren’t that good? Continue reading

Newt Gingrich and the Democrats’ Blue Dress Problem

Newt Gingrich is the first Republican to officially announce his run for the 2012 Presidential nomination and this presents a potential problem for the Democratic election machine. If they are very lucky, the folks vying for the nomination will take care of Newt for them. If not, they will need to come to terms with the impeachment of President Clinton. Continue reading

What I Learned From a Video Game About Congressional Redistricting

I confess, the reason why I wanted to do this post was because I thought the idea of a game about congressional redistricting is pretty funny and because it felt like such an odd subject to make a game out of. But, on further thought, I realized that for the layperson, it is an opportunity to get reacquainted with how districts are drawn in the good ol’ US of A. Ok, for me. It was a good chance for me to get reacquainted with it because I totally hated government in high school and tried to spend most of the class asleep. In fact, I really don’t even remember taking it. So, I thought I’d share my findings with you in case you find it useful, what with the census results coming out, 2012 coming up and the Republicans finally starting to get their act together and finding some people who are willing to run.

Anyways, why don’t we start with looking at what redistricting is again. It is the practice where a state government can divide up areas into legislative districts to reflect the density of population and determine how many of the 435 representatives it sends to Congress. Districts are usually redrawn every 10 years after the census is taken, which is why people get really uptight over whether or not you fill a damn form out with something other than the name “Mickey Mouse”.

However, redistricting can also be known by its evil twin name, gerrymandering. That is when districts are divided up in favor of a particular incumbent or political party and can be drawn along voting lines or racial groupings. For example, one way to do this is if you have an area that has a lot of Republicans surrounded by a lot of Democratic voters, the area could be redrawn so that it splits the Republican voters and restricts them to a minority in the two districts. This is legal until someone gets pissed off and brings a lawsuit against it as in the case of Tom Delay and his money-funneling-mid-census-term redistricting spree. Interesting side note: The term was coined when in 1812 the governor of Massachusetts, Eldbridge Gerry, had signed a bill that redistricted it to benefit his party (confusingly named the Democratic-Republic party). One of the districts was said to look like a salamander because of how it was drawn. Someone made a hybrid of the two names resulting in the term gerrymander. For more on redistricting, it is worth taking a listen to this episode of the Diane Rehm show that first sparked my interest.

But, it is pretty common to gerrymander and seems to help shape the country into being even more partisan. So, a game was born. Is it possible to redistrict the US along non-partisan lines? Some people think so. Professor Nathaniel Persily, a guest on the show, has got his students at Columbia Law School trying their hand at it. So, I thought I would too. After clicking past the opening screen, I was presented with quite a few options. I chose the basic fundamental level which is where I’m at anyways.

After the game loaded, I had to choose my party. Now, for someone who is a little anti-party, I bristled a bit but whatever. It’s all in the name of science. The head of my party is Libby Raul. Well, hello there, Libby! Nice Hillary hair and Nancy Pelosi suit.

Next I got my mission. I needed to look at my district representatives to find out their concerns. The first time I went through this, I blindly didn’t care and just went to the redrawing, which is what I’m good at – drawing. I thought I’d try an early period Baroque-esque theme. Apparently all of the reps in my districts are Democrats which is probably because of the basic level.

When redrawing the districts, I had to balance out the populations to be 650K-ish each. But this is the first time around when I did not know I had to look at my representatives’ concerns nor did I realize that all those dots were Republicans or Democrats. I was concentrating more on balancing out the populations, kinda like on Sim City.

Then I had to submit my masterpiece for approval.

Luckily everyone enjoyed my conceptual sense of space and balance and approved my plan. Ultimately there were no court challenges to my artistic awesomeness.

So that’s the game! Besides the artistic factor, I found it a fun and an engaging way to visualize and learn about a subject which has always escaped me up until now.

What could be result of all of this? It could spur more public interest in redistricting law reform to restrict the practice of gerrymandering. And if we are able to redraw lines to reflect a population change rather than favor a particular side, according to Matthew Frankel at the Brookings Institution, it might go a way in encouraging Congress to work across the aisle. At the very least it can help create a better-informed public about our political process and that is always extremely valuable.

The Rich Have Better Nuclear Bunkers Than You Do

Hello peasants! I thought you might be interested to know that ever since the earthquake hit Japan, the very rich have been getting very serious about looking into their options for survival should all this earth shaking signal the beginning of the end. 12/12/2012 is just around the corner, and a lot people seem to be betting that those crazy Mayans could be right.

Bunker-builders, of which there are far more than I imagined, have reported huge increases in sales of high-end shelters in the past few weeks. We’re not talking drab 50s fallout shelters with dull concrete walls and cans of tuna fish. We’re talking style. So that when the dust settles, those with enough money will emerge with gold ingots in hand, well-rested, well-fed and ready to repopulate the world.

If you’ve got the big bucks, a company by the name of Vivos has already started selling spaces for a group-style bunker in Nebraska that will provide relatively opulent autonomous living for 900 people for a full year. Below is a rendering of one of the common spaces, and you can check out their extremely creepy video here: Vivos 1012 Underground Shelter

If the apocalypse lasts longer than a year, of course everyone in there will be screwed, but for those first 365 days, “members” are assured access to such luxuries as a wine cellar, pet kennels, dental and medical facilities, private living spaces, even a bakery! The place is bigger than a Wal-Mart, but is free of those annoying seniors greeting you at the door.

And the Nebraska site is just one of a network planned around the United States.

The cost to secure your little piece of heaven buried deep under the earth will run up to $50,000 per person, depending on the location. All things considered, it’s not much if you really want to see what 2013 will look like.

But if you’re not into hunkering down with 899 strangers, a company called Hardened Structures offers underground condos that house up to 200 in a series of their “Genesis Pods,” also scattered around the states. If that’s not cozy enough, you can get something all your own: they recently completed a private 100-bed bunker in the Adirondacks for a mere $90 million.

What? Don’t have an extra $90 million lying around? Feeling left out? Not to worry, as even you can be saved. Those industrious folks at Popular Mechanics have researched an affordable low-cost alternative in an article titled “6 Safe, Strong – and Chic (!) – Bomb Shelters You Can Buy Now.” I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling totally reassured.

Here’s KI4U’s adorable “Mini Blast Shelter,” priced at a ridiculously low $3,200 (delivery and installation extra). I know most of you are already salivating, but if you’re hesitating for any reason, just picture your neighbors turning green with envy when they see this beauty being offloaded onto your front yard.

Although it’s nothing more than a modified section of road culvert, it arrives as the pic says, “ready to bury!” According to company owner Shane Connor, “it’s cramped and it’s uncomfortable. But when something nuclear happens, and it’s inevitable, it’s better than the alternative.”  I’m not so sure about that. If you’ve ever shared a small, enclosed space with my partner, the gaseous Mr. Karma, you might think otherwise. However, beggars can’t be choosers.

If you live in an apartment you’re shit out of luck, but lots of people with backyards in places like East Bumfuck seem to think something like this is a great idea.

Looks like fun, no? Don’t forget, Popular Mechanics says it’s chic, and they should know. Besides, peasants, it’s only $3200 and let’s face it: the only “wine cellar” you’re going to need is a place to put those bottles of white zinfandel you’ve got chilling in the fridge.

Note from BadKarma: If I can muster the energy, this will be one in a series of articles discussing ways I’ll be spending the PowerBall Megamillions I plan on winning in the not too distant future, apocalypse notwithstanding.