Review: Behind the Beautiful Forevers

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From Behind the Beautiful Forevers, by Katherine Boo:

Abdul rose with minimal whining, since the only whining his mother tolerated was her own. Besides, this was the gentle-going hour in which he hated Annawadi least. The pale sun lent the sewage lake a sparkling silver cast, and the parrots nesting at the far side of the lake could still be heard over the jets."

After the jump, my review.

Spendthrift Sam and Judicious Janet

Recently, I bemoaned the bipartisan agreement that the government needs to "tighten its belt." This conventional wisdom is just plain wrong. I pointed to a column by economist Paul Krugman to explain why.

Apparently, some readers had trouble understanding how inflation and debt can sometimes work to our advantage (and by some readers I mean one in particular). Admittedly, it's counter-intuitive. If government debt contributed to our economic stagnation, how can more government debt get us going again?

After the jump, my attempt at paraphrasing Krugman's argument.

S2L77: Ayutthaya

From 1977 02 11 Thailand

Before there was Bangkok, there was Ayutthaya. The city was founded in 1350 and was the capital of Thailand until sacked by the Burmese in 1767, after which the Thai capital was moved to Bangkok. In recent decades, the ruins of Ayutthaya have been undergoing excavation and restoration. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, four years after my visit.

More photos after the jump.

Straus versus Perry

The opening of the biennial Texas legislative session featured two speeches that could influence what issues the legislature focuses on. Paul Burka of The Texas Monthly highlights the tension between those two speeches.

After the jump, my own take.

Weak Tea in District 102

Two years ago, newly elected Texas state representative Stefani Carter pissed off local Tea Party activists with her support for establishment figure Joe Straus for Speaker of the Texas House. The Dallas Morning News had the story in November, 2010. Carter's support for Straus cost her "TeaApproved" status from the North Texas Tea Party. The Texas Tribune had the story in January, 2011.

It wasn't just that Carter supported Straus (although that would have been bad enough for the Tea Party). It was that, in the Tea Party's view, in public Carter was professing to be uncommitted, but in private she was pledging her support to Joe Straus. As the North Texas Tea Party put it, "Stefani Carter has no problem talking out of both sides of her mouth."

Two years later, where do things stand? After the jump, let's catch up.