Enlightening.
In closing: Sears; Fat costs us all; Japan has cute technology so powerful that even the Emperor and his wife are cute; Lululemon; Jobs report stinks; maybe we could fix that with some infrastructure building; silly USA Today thinking facts matter; novel; it’s privacy week; yeah, because making sure all high school graduates can read is a vast conspiracy; and Mark Twain.
Today is Midori No Hi, or Greenery Day. Originally celebrated in late April as the [previous] Emperor’s Birthday, Hirohito-sama’s love of nature prompted the current Emperor Akihito-sama to make it a permanent holiday celebrating the great outdoors. It is part of a “Golden Week” of holidays, so don’t plan on getting anything done with business associates in Japan this week.
Picture taken by the ShortWoman in April of 2007. It’s an Asian pear tree in blossom.
In Closing: Stuff you thought you would never hear the President say; the economy is a very different place depending on whether you are an American family or an American auto manufacturer; Tony Horton is the man (except when Henry Rollins is); the hole this school district is in keeps getting deeper; Would Jesus Be Accepted by the Conservatives?; Airline fees are out of hand; Just a few choice words about BP and the oil disaster in the Gulf; Porn Star saves man from prison; unHappy Mothers Day; look, it’s called the 5th Amendment and it applies to all Americans; Baseball players against racial profiling; Audit the Fed!; and two amusing items, I Shot the Serif and Nunderwear.
Merry Christmas! Here’s a little Christmas history for you.
Ok, let’s start off with obligatory items on health insurance reform. The Senate has officially voted on the accursed thing. Here’s the rational case for kill the bill, and push back in conference. The real problem is that this, like many bills, is so long that nobody knows what’s in it, even the Senators.
I have a soft spot for education. Here’s an item on schools that work.
Surely the economic worst is behind us. So saith the President. Unfortunately, he thinks small business is going to lead us out of this mess. That can’t happen as long as banks won’t lend to small businesses (or will only make home equity loans to them), and certainly won’t happen if that small business can’t get affordable health insurance for its owners and employees — who will all be required to have “mandated” insurance under the new bill. Maybe what we really need is some manufacturing, instead of pretending we can build an economy on selling lattes to one another.
Go ahead and tackle that kid, but don’t do any science! You might get hurt! Yeah, maybe we have gone a little wacky on the safety thing (oops, unintentional football joke!). But the point is well taken that the Dangerous Book for Boys isn’t, and most kids aren’t doing any real science in school for fear of lawsuits.
What a great idea! Boy sees problem. Boy asks why problem exists. Boy comes up with solution. Food banks for pet supplies!
SHHHHHHH! Most censored news stories of the year.
Must be nice. Fannie and Freddie’s CEOs are taking home 7 figure paychecks this year. Where do I send my resume?
Schneier on the Predator Drone hack. Short version, it’s not that big a deal. Find out why!
And last…
I think he’s on to something: The grand unifying theory of progressive frustration.
Sorry for anybody who was disappointed that I didn’t cover the Emperor’s birthday. I had net outages yesterday.