Occam's Razor

Insightful essays on subjects trivial and profound

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  • Americans should fear the IRS again

    The Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed by the Senate on Sunday and should pass the House on Friday, has $80B in new funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). A lot of that money is going to modernize its woefully underfunded infrastructure, which is still stuck in the 1960s. If you need any convincing […]

    Mark

    August 10, 2022
    Politics 2022
    Amtrak, Inflation Reduction Act, Internal Revenue Service, Ronald Reagan, US Postal Service
  • Republicans may be surprised by the 2022 midterms

    There’s a problem when you are ruled by a minority. Unless they are careful in the exercise of their power, you can expect a boomerang effect. We saw it, or at least a “boom”, in Tuesday’s primary election in Kansas. It included a ballot question on whether to amend the state’s constitution to prohibit abortions. […]

    Mark

    August 5, 2022
    Politics 2022
    Abortion rights, Democrats, Election 2022, Inflation Reduction Act, Republicans
  • Why the Inflation Reduction Act is a big deal

    Yeah, prices have gone way up. I do notice inflation, but it’s mostly at the grocery store. I’m still getting my mind around paying $8.99 for a pound of premium ground beef. Perhaps it’s hitting us the most in our exploding cat food costs. Because one cat has lost most of her teeth, she needs […]

    Mark

    August 2, 2022
    Politics 2022
    Green energy, Inflation, Inflation Reduction Act
  • Missing Secret Service text messages are a conspiracy you can believe in

    It looks like the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), which protects the president, vice president and certain other high-ranking officials, is missing a whole lot of text messages that occurred on or around January 6, 2021. The messages appear to have been lost this January, curiously starting two days after the January 6 Select Committee in […]

    Mark

    July 29, 2022
    Politics 2022
    Department of Homeland Security, Federal records, January 6, NARA, U.S. Secret Service
  • Grand juror

    If you are depressed about the state of our government, it actually helps to be called to a jury. I’m on a grand jury this time. A few years back I was on a regular jury. Not only did we get to try a suspect (guilty on one charge, not guilty on another), it was […]

    Mark

    July 21, 2022
    Politics 2022
    Drug decriminalizaton, Drug legalization, Drug trafficking, Grand juries, Jury Duty, Justice
  • Republicans seem to be saying: bring it on

    Bringing it on is good if you like chaos and autocracy, with maybe some theocracy thrown into boot. Recent Supreme Court decisions have made Republicans giddy with delight. States are already innovating new and more oppressive measures to screw it to people they don’t like, which are principally people of color and women, of course, […]

    Mark

    July 16, 2022
    Politics 2022
    Abortion, Abortion laws, American Medical Association, Chastity cages, Christian nationalism, Climate Change, Decarbonization, Roe v. Wade, Supreme Court, Uvalde Texas massacre, White privilege
  • Canceling summer

    Last month the Union of Concerned Scientists, looking at the large number of unusual weather events in our hottest months, gave a new name to the months of May through October: the Danger Season. They were stating the obvious: with all that extra energy in the northern hemisphere, and with our general refusal to reduce […]

    Mark

    July 10, 2022
    Politics 2022
    Climate Change, Colorado River, Danger Season, Drought, Global Warming, Summer, Union of Concerned Scientists
  • What should be done with my corpse?

    I’m remembering an old B.C. comic strip: B.C.: What was I before I was what I was, and what will I be when I’m not? Peter: You were what you were before you are what you are, and you will be what you ain’t. That makes sense, sort of. It doesn’t explain anything, but it’s […]

    Mark

    July 4, 2022
    Life 2022
    Cremation, Death
  • A lesson in caregiving

    Three years ago, my wife had her right knee replaced. A couple of weeks ago, she had the other knee replaced. She was in a lot of chronic pain before the surgery. Now that she’s recovering, she’s in a more chronic pain, but it’s the kind that results from having a joint of metal and […]

    Mark

    July 2, 2022
    Life 2022
    Caregiving
  • Republicans will probably be ruing today’s Supreme Court abortion decision

    It’s not surprising that Roe v. Wade was formally overturned by our super conservative court today. That’s because the opinion was leaked back in May. It would have been surprising had it changed. Still, it’s shocking nonetheless. I’m hardly the first pundit to point out that this is like a dog chasing a car and […]

    Mark

    June 24, 2022
    Politics 2022
    Abortion, Clarence Thomas, Contraception, Dobbs v. Jackson, Gun control, Roe v. Wade, Supreme Court
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