Brian Gongol
Multiple Channels
Musharraf wants a "Marshall Plan" for Afghanistan
Whether the Pakistani president's prescription is correct or not, he gets at least part of the diagnosis right: If economic despair persists, so will violence. It's the same reason only an economic solution will suitably bring long-term peace to the Palestinian territories.
Postcards from the hotels of the flying-car future
The flying-car future is the space-age time that never really came, but that didn't stop hoteliers from constructing waystations where the traveler-to-be could get some rest
Medicare spending up 15.6% this year
Medicaid spending has dropped for the first time ever, but the Medicare increase more than makes up for what wasn't spent in the other program. Since the states share Medicaid with the Federal government (but don't have to spend on Medicare), it's temporary good news for state budgets. But woe to anyone who thinks it's long-term good news: The more bankrupt the Federal government goes, the harder it will squeeze the states, which now rely heavily on Federal grants and funding for everything from civil works projects to public security measures. And individuals should be scared, too: When the UK decided to change policies and make the state-funded pension plan more generous for people who hadn't worked the previously-required minimum number of years, it announced that it was simply going to keep the surplus deposits made by people who thought they were doing the financially-responsible thing by paying up for their fair share. Politicians aren't above stealing from the prudent.
The Netherlands may ban the burqa
Iowa State Patrol says all this year's Thanksgiving fatalities caused by lack of seat belts
The gas tax isn't enough to keep roads up
Signs that the gas tax isn't keeping up with the demand Americans put on the roads. The gas tax should be replaced with a per-mile tax, measured with a simple annual odometer reading.
Creationism pushes agenda throughout Anglosphere
Creationist pamphleteering has pushed its way into British schools
Iowa City uses volunteers to taste-test water