dangerousmeta!, the original new mexican miscellany, offering eclectic linkage since 1999.

NY Times: Newt Gingrich Attacks New York Times Editorial Board.

“I learned through Twitter that Mr. Gingrich criticized this paper’s editorial writers because, he says, we live in high-rise condos and take the subway to work ‘unlike the rest of America.’” I understand the need to analyze it, but I really wonder what the hell he was trying to get at. Taking subways doesn’t indicate elitism to me - nor does living in a high-rise. Does it to you? Why?

NY Times: For Founders to Decorators, Facebook Riches.

“The graffiti artist who took Facebook stock instead of cash for painting the walls of the social network’s first headquarters made a smart bet. The shares owned by the artist, David Choe, are expected to be worth upward of $200 million when Facebook stock trades publicly later this year.” That’s a score.

Dismal.com: The January Jobs Jolt.

Annoying, that morning news talk shows feel they have to echo the worst parts of the McLaughlin Report (talking over each other).

The Atlantic: Would Mitt Romney Be the Richest U.S. President Ever?

“Romney is worth more than the last eight presidents, combined, times two. Should you care?” I’d say so. 

Guardian.UK: What’s become of corporate society?

“… in the chaotic new economy emerging from the financial crisis many people are finding, to their immense cost, that the jobs they worked so hard to have already been eliminated as business models are transformed overnight by new technology. Its not just a job for life that is a thing of the past, but a job at all in an economy where over one third of the workforce are freelance, in what many are describing as the industrial revolution of our time.” A worthy read. Make time for this one.

Conde Nast Traveler: The New Airline Rules - Six things That Will Make Air Travel Easier.

Pricing may be more predictable.

PetaPixel: Why Wedding Photographers’ Prices are “Wack”.

A wedding photographer answers the complaints of a soon-to-be bride. The comments are nitpicky, but worth also perusing.

The Professional Hobo: My Cost of Full-Time Travel in 2011.

I can dream, can’t I?

The Atlantic: Mitt Romney’s Tax Returns - Here’s What Really Matters.

“It’s not that Romney tax return proves he’s done something wrong. It’s that his tax returns prove that the tax code is wrong. Households worth $200 million earning $20 million in investment income a year shouldn’t be paying a lower tax rate than some middle class families, especially at a time when we’re thinking about cutting spending that disproportionately benefits the lower and lower-middle class.” Our modern affluent are not Andrew Carnegies, to help their fellow citizens by giving away $350 million in public libraries and many other beneficial resources (dollar value in 2010 is roughly equal to about $10 billion). You just don’t see that magnitude of financial charity happening.

WaPo: Fannie and Freddie don’t deserve blame for bubble.

“If Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are responsible for the debacle, then perhaps government’s role in a future mortgage finance system should be minimal. But if private lenders deserve most of the blame, the case grows for giving government an important role in backstopping and overseeing the system.” I sort of bristle at binary ‘either/or’ thinking. There’s a better balance that would be created by greater regulation and plain old ‘policing’ of the financial system.

bon appetit: How to “Wash” Your Cast-Iron Skillet.

Coarse salt. Cast iron’s good for the biceps, too.

naked cap: Obama to Use Pension Funds of Americans to Pay for Bank Mortgage “Settlement”

“As I urged last week, please call your state attorney general and tell them you think taking from your pension to enrich banks for abusing homeowners is a lousy idea and they should therefore refuse to sign on to the settlement.”

The Atlantic: Frequency of Alan Greenspan’s Laughter Predicted the Housing Bubble.

We’re not laughing, certainly.

SF New Mexican: City bumps pay floor to national high.

“The city announced Thursday that the wage floor will increase to $10.29 an hour — up from the $9.85 imposed on employers for the last two years and a nickel higher than San Francisco’s.” It’s difficult to discern the direct effects of the living wage, other than portion sizes going down, quality going down, and prices go up at local ‘affordable’ restaurants. Perhaps fewer sales clerks in small retail stores. Businesses that used to skim by on the edge of profitability are largely gone. I see a lot of moving, looking for cheaper rental spaces.

WaPo: For a jobless, struggling South Carolina man, reality isn’t a political debate.

This shouldn’t be happening in America. 

WaPo: 10 reasons the U.S. is no longer the land of the free.

“Even as we pass judgment on countries we consider unfree, Americans remain confident that any definition of a free nation must include their own — the land of free. Yet, the laws and practices of the land should shake that confidence. In the decade since Sept. 11, 2001, this country has comprehensively reduced civil liberties in the name of an expanded security state. The most recent example of this was the National Defense Authorization Act, signed Dec. 31, which allows for the indefinite detention of citizens. At what point does the reduction of individual rights in our country change how we define ourselves?”

Vimeo: A climbing harness to reach your books?

Meh. I would make thicker shelves and screw climbing handholds on them. Might as well get a workout on the way. Faster, too.

The Atlantic: Ronald Reagan Didn’t Share the GOP’s ‘47 Percent’ Problem.

Like most edge-Boomers, I love a good Reagan-bash. But when the Gipper starts sounding reasonable, one realizes how far right our culture has aimlessly wandered.

The Atlantic: The 23 Best Countries for Work-Life Balance (We Are Number 23).

Not surprising, this ‘exceptional’ performance ...

LA Times: Gingrich Puts a Price on His Family Values.

I knew some of this, but if it’s all true, I’m beyond nauseated. 

SF New Mexican: Solar system that heats via air circulation doesn’t qualify for tax credits.

“A duct system equipped with a small fan draws air from inside Avery’s home near Santa Fe and funnels it up to a solar collector on her roof. The air flows through the collector, passing between a black-painted aluminum sheet and a special thermal glass, and is warmed by the sun. Then the air is blown by the system back into the house. Dampers control the air flow and a thermostat controls the temperature. ” Shame. You’d think tax credits could be scaled against system efficacy.

The New Yorker: The U.S. Postal Service Ends Next-Day Delivery.

Hmmm. Time to restart the tradition of circle letters?

Urgent, if you use Motrin.

Recall info. “This is not a consumer level recall, which means that consumers do not need to dispose of or return the product. There is no safety concern if consumers continue taking the product in accordance with its label; however, it is possible there may be a delay in experiencing relief. This action is not being undertaken on the basis of adverse events.”

So if you pull out your back shovelling snow, go for Advil instead.

Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire: Republicans Lose Tax Issue to Obama.

Crash. Burn. But with the short-attention news cycle, who’ll care in two months?

The Atlantic: Get Ready for Manufacturing’s Big Comeback.

“In August, Boston Consulting Group released a report predicting a global realignment in the manufacturing sector. By 2015, the firm believes that many kinds of production will be just as cheap in the U.S. as in China, especially in low volume, heavy goods where labor only makes up a small part of the cost equation. Those include products like car parts, construction equipment, and appliances.”