From Failblog, here's a brief series of messages on Facebook among a high school teacher and a few of her former students. Most of them apparently liked her but one, "Larry," was of the opposite opinion. Larry, it appears, did … Continue reading
The latest buzz phrase among some Republicans seems to be "blank check." Specifically, they insist that the debt ceiling must be raised only a little bit -- just enough to hold us through December and make us go through this … Continue reading
In a post a little over a week ago I noted my disappointment that Scholastic, a company with a long history in the education market, was selling its credibility by offering to “promote client objectives” by distributing packages to schoolchildren … Continue reading
OK, one more post on the current slow-motion disaster in Washington, this time quoting economist Paul Krugman's column in yesterday's New York Times: The facts of the crisis over the debt ceiling aren’t complicated. Republicans have, in effect, taken America … Continue reading
I recommend yet another concise, thoughtful post from Steve Benen at The Washington Monthly: "It doesn't have to be this way." I won't repeat when Benen has to say since he expresses it better than I could. But I will … Continue reading
This short (30-second) documentary from British television illustrates why most large mammals in the wild are distrustful of humans: … Continue reading
I'm grateful to Andy Porter for pointing out an interesting article in The Globe and Mail of Toronto on the complicated tax status of U.S. nationals living abroad. Basically, Americans citizens are generally required to file U.S. income tax returns … Continue reading
You probably already know this, but ever since the current system of dealing with the national debt was adopted many decades ago, Congress has periodically raised the debt ceiling as a matter of routine housekeeping. Back in May of 2003, … Continue reading
New York comic Mark Malkoff decided to test the limits of what an Apple store will allow you to do. Apparently, you can get away with quite a lot, starting with ordering a pizza. (One Apple store employee confronts Malkoff … Continue reading
It started with an opinion piece published Wednesday on The Wall Street Journal website that attempted to explain why extremists on the right are willing to damage the American economy by blocking the routine debt ceiling increase (ellipsis in original): … Continue reading