Rebecca Martinson makes her parents proud

Rebecca Martinson, former member of the Delta Gamma sorority at the University of Maryland, has realized her 15 minutes of fame by writing a nasty email to her (now) former sorority sisters so over the top that one of them was moved to circulate it on the internet.

The Daily Mail (of course) has thorough coverage; there is also this bit about a shout-out on the Daily Show from the student newspaper at Maryland and this bit from Gawker.

Thought question: what is the effect of this episode on Rebecca's discounted lifetime earnings?

Hat tips: Charlie Brown and Jess Goldberg

Trade Adjustment Assistance Act evaluation released

The Department of Labor's evaluation of the services and benefits provided under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act has finally been released.

I don't want to take away the fun of reading it, but if you want to form a prior about the findings, the following information might be relevant:

1. The report was released about nine months after the policy debate around reauthorizing the act.

2. The report was released at 5 PM on the Friday before the inauguration and Martin Luther King day.

3. The abstract on the DOL website says nothing about the sign of the findings.

Full disclosure: I consulted on the evaluation.

Economics Moment of Zen #8

"Misbehavioral Economics"

- Charlie Brown

Paperless tickets

The WSJ details state legislative battles over proposed bans on non-transferable ("paperless") tickets to events. What I am missing, and what it would have been useful for the WSJ to talk about, is the market failure that justifies intervention in this market. Seems to me that promoters should be free to offer whatever type of ticket they want so long as the particular bundle of rights being transferred is clear to both buyers and sellers.

Movie: Trance

Trance is great fun with mystery, hypnotism, art, exotic choreography and, best of all, British accents. Who could ask for more in a movie.

The NYT provides a "good but not great" review. I liked it a bit better than they did.

Assorted links

1. Truly, the French will strike over anything.

2. Watch out for Mormon statisticians with samurai swords.

3. Reese Witherspoon misbehaving.

4. Mark Steyn on Margaret Thatcher.

5. Reason's Cathy Young is always at her best on gender issues. Here she addresses Obama's shocking decision to refer to a female human as attractive.

Hat tip on #1 to Charlie Brown. #2 via instapundit.

Does Ann Arbor suffer from high self-esteem?