Scott Shackford on PJTV Talking Unemployment, Environmental Disasters and Fat-Fueled Battleships

Reason.com's Scott Shackford made his first studio appearance at PJTV recently on Front Page with Allen Barton and show regular Terry Jones of Investor's Business Daily. They chew the fat on a number of recent economic and environmental news stories.

First up: Friday's job numbers were terrible. Are we as tired about talking about unemployment as President Barack Obama's administration is of telling people not to "read too much into" the numbers?

Next: Everything's a disaster. Discussion starts with Gene Healy's recent piece about the politicization of disaster relief funding, whether we need the federal government to manage disaster responses and then pivot to discussion of global warming information and a recent court ruling affirming the power of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish rules on greenhouse gas emissions. Fun fact: The rueful chuckle Shackford gives as he starts responding to Barton's question about the EPA ruling is him realizing every single concrete detail about the case has disappeared from his brain right as he opened his mouth. Does it show?

Next: The U.S. Navy wants to power its ships with algae and chicken fat. Is that a good idea? And GM has been powering its company with tax dollars for some time now. How has that been going for them?

Finally: Cartoonist/Essayist Tim Kreider's recent commentary at The New York Times, titled "The 'Busy' Trap," received a bit of buzz last week. The crew discusses (read: "mocks") the general economic and cultural ineptness of a guy who admits he works four hours a day suggesting that we all have a fixed work schedule and fixed salary.