Doc: The time-traveling is just too dangerous. Better that I devote myself to study the other great mystery of the universe: women!
In addition, Mr. McClellan writes, the decision to invade Iraq was a “serious strategic blunder,” and yet, in his view, it was not the biggest mistake the Bush White House made. That, he says, was “a decision to turn away from candor and honesty when those qualities were most needed.”From the article it seems that he has harsh words for almost all involved. Of course, this is a man whose reputation has been rather sullied by his time in the White House. On the other hand, since he is roughly the 519th person to deal with the administration and then criticize it along the same terms, I suppose we could take this with more than a grain of salt.
Motivational speaker got drunk, naked, tried to fight buddy, fired gun inside home, police sayWhat was the argument about? I think a very plausible explanation is that Paulson told Simon he was no Duke. Simon tried to prove it by getting naked and comparing himself to a replica. Unfortunately, Paulson was not convinced so Simon presumably called him "Pilgrim" and then beat the crap out of him.
If you believe it, you can achieve it. Snip:
According to court documents, after a night of binge drinking at local businesses with friend Todd Paulson, Simon took off all his clothes and began fighting with the man, a friend from prison. Simon later struck Paulsen in the face with a statue of John Wayne. It is unknown what the argument was about.
Right. And maybe that's the problem. When I say that the premium for getting a college degree used to be 30% and now it's 90%, what do I mean? One possibility is something like this:This is pretty striking stuff. High school grads earn about 1/4 of what they did in 1973. College grads have made very modest gains. I suspect if you factored in the rising cost of college educations, the gains by the college educated look even weaker.
1973: high school grad makes $42K, college grad makes $55K.
2006: high school grad makes $42K, college grad makes $80K.
This probably would motivate more kids to get college degrees. But that's not what actually happened. Here's what actually happened for male workers (all figures adjusted for inflation):
1973: high school grad makes $42K, college grad makes $55K.
2006: high school grad makes $31K, college grad makes $61K.
The skill premium hasn't gone up because a college degree is way more lucrative than in the past. In fact, it's only slightly more lucrative over the long term and completely stagnant among recent grads. Rather, the skill premium has gone up because the value of a high school degree has cratered.
American Airlines, the nation’s largest air carrier, said Wednesday that it would begin charging $15 for many passengers to check their first bag, eliminating a free service that passengers in the United States have come to expect during the modern jet era.All of this makes me wonder if the next generation will have all the opportunities the last few generations have had to see the world. Being able to get anywhere most anytime is something we have taken for granted. It may not always be the case.
Indiana: Snakes. Why'd it have to be snakes?
Sallah: Asps. Very dangerous. You go first.
Where Does Your School Rank?I assumed that figuring out the best high schools in the country must be a pretty difficult task, but the clear implication is that someone must think they know how. Imagine my surprise then when in the methodology I read:
Challenge Index More than 1300 high schools are included in the latest list of the nation's best.
The rating is not a measurement of the overall quality of the school but illuminates one factor that many educators consider important.Methodology is always causing problems for journalists and headline writers. Fortunately, the general public are such dutiful readers that I'm sure misleading headlines rarely cause misinterpretations of reality.
It may even be a good investment: Recent research suggests that procrastination is on the rise—30 years ago, just 5 percent of Americans were self-described "chronic procrastinators"; today that number is up to 26 percent.The question arises of whether more of us really are procrastinating or more of us just think we are procrastinating. It has been well-documented that the pace of our lives has been quickening for some time. So isn't it possible that procrastinating today means waiting for an hour to do something, whereas 20 years ago it might have meant waiting days?
Transit systems in metropolitan areas like Minneapolis, Seattle, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Francisco reported similar jumps. In cities like Houston, Nashville, Salt Lake City, and Charlotte, N.C., commuters in growing numbers are taking advantage of new bus and train lines built or expanded in the last few years. The American Public Transportation Association reports that localities with fewer than 100,000 people have also experienced large increases in bus ridership.This paragraph is notable for some of the cities listed in it. We're not talking about New York, L.A., or D.C. here. These are cities with a lot in common with Kansas City. Of course, what they don't have in common with KC is that they have growing transit systems.
“Nobody believed that people would actually give up their cars to ride public transportation,” said Joseph J. Giulietti, executive director of the authority. “But in the last year, and last several months in particular, we have seen exactly that.”I'm still hoping that high gas prices will keep the pressure on local leaders to make public transportation happen no matter the obstacles. We might end up being the last ones to the party, but that would be better than never showing up.
Fred: I woke up, I'm bucknaked and everyone one is looking at me. I'll tell you, that's the last time I drink tequila.
Perhaps the problem is that so many churches deem all other rock music to be evil, and consequently these young bands haven't heard enough good music from which to build. Or maybe the bands just can't shake the guilty thoughts that their own music might be riding the line, and they may be playing their way to hell.Today, Slate featured a book summary of Daniel Radosh's Rapture Ready. The book is about the parallel universe that evangelicals have set up to mirror the real world. The article is very interesting, but on the subject of music there is a particularly fascinating point about Christian music. Not only is the music crappy, but it could lead to a crisis of faith for its consumers.
For faith, the results can be dangerous. A young Christian can get the idea that her religion is a tinny, desperate thing that can't compete with the secular culture. A Christian friend who'd grown up totally sheltered once wrote to me that the first time he heard a Top 40 station he was horrified, and not because of the racy lyrics: "Suddenly, my lifelong suspicions became crystal clear," he wrote. "Christian subculture was nothing but a commercialized rip-off of the mainstream, done with wretched quality and an apocryphal insistence on the sanitization of reality."My first reaction to that is the horrific thought that it was a Top 40 station that created this revelation. That is a pretty serious indictment of Christian music in itself. But I also think the point is important. It's sort of the equivalent of corporations trying to do counter-culture or 50 year olds trying to talk slang with teenagers. It always ends up seeming empty.
4. Passing on a chance to move to the National League.
Before the vote, Neufeld told House Republicans that it would probably be “the most important vote you’ll cast for the future of this state.”
Lieutenant Thaddeus Harris: Remember Mahoney, nobody screws with me.
Carey Mahoney: Well, maybe you'll meet the right girl and all of that will change.
