Optimal Government Budgeting Contingency Reserve Funds

During recent years, more state and local governments have made provisions in their budgets for establishing and maintaining contingency reserve funds. A recent study by the National Conference of State Legislatures(NCSL) found that over half of all states now have such funds. The basic purpose of these contingency reserve funds, also referred to as "rainy day" funds, is to insulate governmental budgets from unexpected fiscal disruptions brought about by such factors as unanticipated revenue shortfalls and expenditure overruns. What have received less attention, however, are the criteria which governments need to use in deciding whether to establish such contingency reserves in the first place, and if so, how large these reserves should optimally be. This article explores these two issues, using the State of California as an illustrative case study     

Diagnosis and the dole: the function of illness in American distributive politics

This article argues that the concept of illness has certain properties that make it a convenient administrative device for managing a need-based redistributive system in a society whose primary distributive system is based on work. These properties--cultural acceptance of illness as a legitimate excuse for not working, objective standards for identifying illness, and restrictiveness--have led to the widespread use of illness as an eligibility criterion for many social benefits, including cash transfers, services, privileges and exemptions. Paradoxically, the traditional rationales for using illness as one of the keystones of categorical welfare policy are eroding, yet welfare programs based on illness certification are growing rapidly. To explain this anomaly, the author suggests that medical certification as a distributive mechanisms serves certain latent political functions, such as allowing welfare programs to be responsive to political unrest, siphoning off opposition to controversial policies by the granting of medical exemptions to intense opponents, are reducing political conflict by using physicians as arbiters.     

Mitochondrial DNA analysis of the presumptive remains of Jesse James

We report here the results of mtDNA analysis of remains exhumed in July, 1995 from Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Kearney, Nebraska, that are thought to be those of Jesse James. The remains were poorly preserved, presumably due to wet and slightly acidic soil conditions, and insufficient DNA for analysis was obtained from two bone samples. However, two of four teeth, and two hairs recovered in 1978 from the original burial site on the James Farm, did yield reproducible mtDNA sequences. These mtDNA sequences from the teeth and hairs were all identical, suggesting that they came from the same individual; furthermore, this mtDNA sequence was identical to mtDNA sequences determined from blood samples from two maternal relatives of Jesse James. Therefore, either the remains are indeed those of Jesse James, or they are from an unrelated individual who, by chance, happens to have the same mtDNA sequence. To assess the probability that an unrelated individual would have the same sequence, we searched the forensic mtDNA database, and found that this sequence does not appear among the 2426 mtDNA sequences therein. Hence, the mtDNA analysis supports the identification of the exhumed remains from Mt. Olivet Cemetery as those of Jesse James.     

Interpretation of unusual wounds caused by firearms.

The interpretation of the range of fire of gunshot wounds requires coordination of information and observations from the autopsy surgeon, scene investigator, and laboratory analyst. Opinions based on incomplete information often lead to misinterpretation of the wound. The effects of interposed targets such as clothing, windows, and body parts are discussed. Case examples are given for interposed targets that cause confusing patterns and even lead to misidentification of the points of entrance and exit of the projectile in the body. The splitting of tissue in areas of bony prominence can be mistaken for evidence of discharge of a firearm at close range.     

The August 1924 raid on Stolpce,Poland, and the evolution of Soviet active intelligence

In August 1924, a Soviet-sponsored raid on the Polish town of Stolpce to free two imprisoned communist activists went badly wrong. Though the ruling Politburo had not authorized this raid, the public embarrassment and diplomatic consequences led the Soviet government to overhaul its program of ‘active intelligence’, halting peacetime attacks on neighboring states in favor of quieter preparations for wartime sabotage and diversion under the authority of the Red Army's Intelligence Directorate. At the same time, the Politburo organized stay-behind groups in Soviet border regions to prepare for the possibility of enemy occupation.