The Fonzi Scale

Perhaps a reaction to my economics schooling, I’ve had the habit lately of thinking about things quantitatively. Recently, when two friends—yes, still have a few—were talking about the pot consumption; e.g., how much they need, want, can afford, and my brain started graphing consumer demand curves, morphing with the discussion.

So, from this inclination, I give you the Fozi Scale. Pretty much a rip—off of the +/- point system that The City Paper’s of D.C. and Philadelphia use to score how well (or not) their cities are doing, Newsweek’s up, down, and horizontal arrows.

Please forgive the more than usual reliance on The Economist, my inputs have narrowed lately. I’ll try to do better.

Thumbs Up:

--India’s government announced that it wanted to withdraw troops from the inhabited areas it controls in the divided region of Kashmir. Hundreds of thousands of troops are stationed in Kashmir, which has suffered two decades of insurgency. –The Economist

--Peru’s government said it would repeal two decrees facilitating investment in the Amazon jungle, after two months of protests in which 24 police and perhaps 30 Indians died. Yehude Simon, the prime minister, said he would resign once calm was restored. –The Economist

--A judge allowed a civil lawsuit to proceed against John Yoo, an official in the Bush administration who helped form policy on the treatment of suspected terrorist detainees. José Padilla, an American citizen who has been sentenced on terror conspiracy charges, is suing Mr Yoo for $1 and for an admission that his incarceration as an enemy combatant was unconstitutional. –The Economist

--Russia’s Supreme Court ordered a retrial of three men acquitted of being accomplices in the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, a crusading journalist whom Vladimir Putin described as a “marginal” figure. None of the men are accused of the actual killing. –The Economist

--Al Franken (yes, from SNL) finally declared Minnesota’s newest Senator by the State Supreme Court. Democrats now have a filibuster-free majority of 60 in the Senate. Kinda.

--Mark Sanford, the Republican governor of South Carolina, caused a stir when he disappeared for five days. His staff said he had gone hiking in the Appalachians. In fact, Mr Sanford had been in Argentina. On his return he admitted to an extramarital affair with a woman there. –The Economist

It’s just really funny: Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, the NPR show, has coined the phrase “gone hiking in the Appalachians,” meaning “I’m leaving town unannounced to shack up with my infidelity.”


Thumbs Down:

--In Northern Ireland more than 100 Romanians, mostly Roma (gypsies), fled their homes in south Belfast after a spate of racist attacks. The deputy first minister, Martin McGuinness, called the attacks a “totally shameful episode”. –The Economist


Splitting the Difference:

--Iran’s Revolution-revolution; crazy good, crazy scary.

But: Neda Agha-Soltan—the beautiful woman shot and killed in front of her father, completely caught on video, in the aftermath of Iran’s presumably fraudulent presidential election. If you want to cry while wanting to throw up, you can catch it on YouTube. It’s really haunting me.


--Mr Obama signed an order that extends benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees.

But: Health insurance is not included, provoking more criticism from gay groups that the president is not fulfilling his promises to them. –The Economist

--“Public Option” part of American universal health-care; to soon to tell if either it’s any good or if it will fly. From what I’ve heard, though, it still seems tied to work or pay-roll taxes: what about unemployed?

But: Single payer health-care option for health-care reform is off the table, according to the administration.