As catchy pop-social science coinages go, “the Big Sort” may not have quite the pith or resonance of, say, “bobos” or “tipping points.” But in attempting to define and argue the implications of the sweeping social and political balkanization that has swept across America over the last 30 years, Bill Bishop has set his sights ambitiously on David Brooks and Malcolm Gladwell territory: identifying a big, worldview-changing social science phenomenon, and interpreting it for a popular audience.

Subdivided We Fall

A number of readers complained to me or to Harper’s about that delightful Hillary-as-Hitler video I posted the other day, which was created by comedian James Adomian. But the public has spoken (or rather, clicked), and the critics appear to be in the minority:

First uploaded to YouTube May 7, “Hillary’s Downfall” has tallied more than 300,000 views. The bump in views skyrocketed Adomian’s account to the sixth-most-viewed comedian slot this week, into the realm of YouTube web comedy staples like Michael Buckley and College Humor’s video channel…”I don’t have the resources to release my complaints in real time, like on a talk show,” said Adomian. “So I thought it was cathartic to imagine what it would be like in Hillary’s bunker when they got the bad news [that she’d lost the nomination].”

On That Hillary–Hitler Video: The verdict is in

Criminal organizations and individuals frequently use the telecommunication systems of the United States to further serious crimes, including terrorism, kidnapping, extortion, organized crime, drug trafficking, and public corruption. One of the most effective tools law enforcement agencies use to acquire evidence of these crimes is electronic surveillance techniques.1 However, continuing advances in telecommunication technology have impaired and in some instances prevented law enforcement from conducting some types of authorized electronic surveillance.

With advances in telecommunication technologies and law enforcement’s growing concern about the ability to conduct authorized electronic surveillance, Congress passed the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) in 1994. The purpose of CALEA was to enable law enforcement to conduct electronic surveillance despite the deployment of new technologies and wireless services that have altered the character of electronic surveillance. To facilitate CALEA implementation, Congress appropriated nearly $500 million to the Telecommunications Carrier Compliance Fund (TCCF). The Attorney General was designated to reimburse telecommunication carriers for the cost of modifying equipment, facilities, or services installed or deployed on or before January 1, 1995, to assist law enforcement authorities in carrying out its surveillance activities. In February 1995, the Attorney General delegated CALEA management to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Implementation of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act by the Federal Bureau of Investigation

To integrate all FinCEN activities, this plan focuses on three mission-critical outcome goals for the next 5 years: financial systems resistant to criminal abuse; detection and deterrence of money laundering, terrorism financing, and other illicit activity; and efficient management, safeguarding, and use of BSA information. The plan also outlines five cross-cutting principles that will serve as the foundation for all our work:

1. A quest for maximum efficiency and effectiveness in both our internal operations and our external impact;
2. A commitment to create value for the wide range of government customers that rely on the BSA data and analyses of that data;
3. Partnerships and collaboration with a host of external entities as well as among FinCEN employees with different areas of expertise;
4. A global perspective; and
5. Use of secure, advanced technology to facilitate all our operations.

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Strategic Plan for 2008 - 2012

Description from Mtanga:

The video below is, in my view, a very funny, albeit scathing parody of the last days of the Clinton campaign. However, I urge you not to watch it if you are sensitive to foul language, as it is replete with filthy words. Also, it's worth mentioning that the footage used is from a truly superb 2005 film called Downfall, in which Bruno Ganz gives a sensational performance as Adolph Hitler. Highly recommended and well worth renting.

Zer Gut!

Psychology of Intelligence Analysis

Psychology of Intelligence Analysis — Central Intelligence Agency

Testimony before the Committee on the Budget and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, U.S. House of Representatives

Congressional Budget Office - Testimony on Current and Future Investment in Infrastructure

The buzz these days is that American politics may be entering a “postpartisan” era, as a new generation finds the old ideological quarrels among baby boomers to be increasingly irrelevant. In reality, matters are not so simple. Far from being postpartisan, today’s young adults are significantly more likely to identify as Democrats than were their predecessors. Along with colleagues at the Brookings and Hoover institutions, we recently completed a comprehensive study of the nation’s polarization. Our research concludes not only that the ideological differences between the political parties are growing but also that they have become embedded in American society itself.

Vote Like Thy Neighbor

All the gas tax talk has stirred up a storm. Whatever you think about the candidates' proposals, however, their debate has illuminated an urgent reality: If the U.S. government continues with its current transportation policies, it will undermine the social and economic security of our workforce and accelerate global climate change. We must chart a new course, rebuilding America's overburdened and, in many cases, obsolete transportation infrastructure while addressing these two 21st-century imperatives.

A Transportation Crossroads

Slavoj Zizek:

The West is projecting not only its own spiritual fantasies upon Tibet, but its own economic fears upon China, imagining a power struggle quite different from that which has actually happened in Tibet. We have to learn to look at Tibet as it is – and China too.

Tibet: dream and reality