Brian Gongol
Graphic of the day: Swing Vote
"Democrats are very lucky that Republicans haven't heeded Hagel's warnings"
Senator Hagel continues to risk political popularity in order to back decent conservative principles, including voting to keep immigration reform alive. Creating a path to legality for the millions of illegal immigrants already here would've made lots of sense, but political reactionism got in the way.
One way of handling golf balls in the wild
July 9, 2007 Carnival of the Capitalists
Some of the best: An inquiry into where the construction jobs are going and how thinking about the opposite of what you're looking for (a favorite Charlie Munger approach) can yield breakthrough ideas
No surprise: "Grow Iowa Values Fund" produces results far below promises
It's an economic development program that the Auditor of State says has promised a lot more than it has actually delivered
"Ten politically incorrect truths about human nature"
Dispatch from the flying-car future
No, really: Ford's Levacar was supposed to be a flying car
Ben Stein likes the prospects for the US economy
Despite problems with subprime lenders and other hazards, Stein thinks the future looks good. Fed Chair Ben Bernanke will tell the world what he thinks about inflation on Tuesday, and it would be nice if the answer goes something like, "I hate it and will tie it down and beat it senseless wherever I find it." Related: "[C]ould Africa be saving celebrity careers more than celebrities are saving Africa?"
Spammers now turning to PDF files
As spam filters improve, spammers are turning to alternative routes for propagating their scams
One crook commits 38% of all crimes in one town
More evidence that it's not always necessary to apply new rules and laws with every new problem -- sometimes, it's just a matter of capturing and punishing the worst offenders and then leaving everyone else alone.
Copycat London bombers convicted
Caesarian deliveries an "epidemic" in Puerto Rico
(Article in Spanish) Just shy of 50% of all babies born in Puerto Rico in 2005 were delivered by Caesarian section. That's well above the 15% figure that the health authorities there think ought to be delivered in that way.
Vegetation becomes public enemy #1
UK will put all secondary students through financial education courses
If (and it's a big "if") the classes are conducted intelligently, such a program should be very helpful. Too many young people have no idea what fiscal responsibility entails, and the poverty that they bring upon themselves through money-ignorance has huge costs for society, too.
Brazilian president figures out that government competes with organized crime
Says he's going to push a development project in a Rio slum because "if the State does not fulfill its role of giving basic conditions to the people, the drug traffickers will, organized crime will." It's going to cost them $1.7 billion to get the project underway.
