The Rocky Mountain News has a great story on the Arvada West kid who punked his local Army recruiters. Those of us who insist on finding something to bitch about are probably wondering why, since we know this sort of monkey business has to be rampant in recruiting offices across the country, the story had to be broken by a

Brian at daedalnexus notes Kristof’s NYT story on the impact bloggers are having in China: “Now, if only we could get bloggers to do this here in the U.S.” The problem, of course, is that reporting like that being done by Li Xinde is a job. You can’t do it without financial means. This is something that any number of

According to an e-mail from MoveOn: Last night at 7:30pm, with only hours to go before Senator Frist rose in the Senate to try to break the rules and seize power to appoint extreme judges, 14 senators announced they had struck a deal. As powerful far-right leader James Dobson put it, “This Senate agreement represents a complete bailout and betrayal

Okay, I need help here. I’m looking at the “compromise” between Senate Dems and GOPpers on the filibuster showdown, and I’m trying to figure out precisely what happened. As best I can tell, the GOP gets the straight majority vote it wants on extremist judges like Priscilla Owen. The Dems, in turn, get to keep their theoretical right to filibuster

drdenny has an insightful take on the accuracy problem facing the news industry here. To which I have this to say: __________________ Ah yes, a money problem masquerading as an ethical/professional one. As you say, spend more money, hire more reporters and editors, which is what you have to do to get it right. In doing so we find ourselves

Sarcasm Center of the Brain Located by Researchers Israeli researchers have discovered the region of the brain responsible for understanding sarcasm. If that region of the brain is not functioning properly, the researchers found that subjects could only understand the literal meaning of another person’s words. The results of the study were published in the May issue of the journal

Ummm…. The Cambodian Government allowed the fight to take place, under the condition that they receive a 50% commission on each ticket sold, and that no cameras would be allowed in the arena. The fight was called in only 12 minutes, after which 28 fighters were declared dead, while the other 14 suffered severe injuries including broken bones and lost

We shouldn’t hate people who prefer Eastern-style “barbecue,” we should pity them. (Story.) [THX: Jim Jonas at the Pit’s Food Desk.]

Good analysis by Krugman today on the push for a bigger safety net at the state level, but let’s hope he’s wrong about that last paragraph…. [THX: angliss.]

Start with the basic facts: U.S. budget cuts 75% of adult education funds Monday, May 23, 2005 By Karen MacPherson, Post-Gazette National Bureau WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania faces a 75 percent cut in federal funding for its adult education programs if Congress approves budget reductions proposed by President Bush. If the cuts are approved — as state adult education officials fear

Life is a race, and while we’re all in a sense sprinting for the same finish line, the simple truth is that some folks are born a lot closer to the tape than others. If we’re running a 100-yard dash and I get a 20-yard headstart, you might still beat me. But you’ll have to be 20% better than me

Not sure what got all this cranked up – I think it must have emerged from something kashandkara, dirtyblonde7, and jtjoeman were talking about in class yesterday. Anyway, Kara sent this “Tribute to the Nice Guys” around, and since one good turn deserves another, let me point everybody to an apt rejoinder honoring all the nice girls out there.

I don’t normally bother writing about reality TV, even though I do enjoy some of the shows for reasons I don’t expect anybody else to really get. But I did want to drop a couple comments on last night’s finale of The Apprentice, in which The Donald® hired 26 year-old real estate whiz Kendra Todd to run one of his

Actually, would you just keep hitting me until I’m dead? “Hit Me Baby One More Time, an exciting new primetime summer series on NBC, is a 1 hour music showcase in which veteran hit makers return to perform their greatest hit as well as a cover of a popular, contemporary song. Each show features 5 chart topping artists. At the

sirpaulsbuddy is chronicling a couple diametrically opposed approaches to gay rights issues in my home state here. Let me just say this about that: As a native of Davidson County, NC, can I just say how damned proud I am of the goddamned hillbillies running the place? Of course, you remember my post a few days ago where I said