George F. Will - Identity Justice: Obama's Conventional Choice - washingtonpost.com

George F. Will - Identity Justice: Obama's Conventional Choice - washingtonpost.com

These conservatives are crazy. I don't recall the outrage with the nomination of Roberts and Alito. They are conservative judges that have stuck to W.'s ideals on the Court. What's wrong with Obama wanting the same thing? Maybe he likes identity politics? I don't know, but he did win a huge victory last Fall and deserves to get the chance to mold the Court as he wants. That's kinda of Constitutional perogative.

breakingviews | California breakup

breakingviews | California breakup

This is a whack idea, but I love it. Although it might be accomplished with a constitutional convention that restricted the use of referendums and expanded the legislature. Hutchinson's argument that expanding the legislature would be expensive is dumb. You think building three new state capitals with new legislatures is cheap? Still a good idea that should be debated and expanded upon.

The High Cost of Poverty: Why the Poor Pay More

The High Cost of Poverty: Why the Poor Pay More

I don't know if the article answers the question, but it is a good look at the working poor that most newspapers and the media rarely cover. We know some of the problems, so what next?

Chrysler Plans to Shut a Quarter of Dealers - NYTimes.com

Chrysler Plans to Shut a Quarter of Dealers - NYTimes.com

This is ridiculous and still too many dealers. Chrysler is significantly smaller than Toyota. Toyota has about 1,500 dealers compared with the new Chrysler with 2,400. No wonder why Detroit is in trouble, they can't count.

Russia Stockpiles the Gems, Awaiting the Return of Demand - NYTimes.com

Russia Stockpiles the Gems, Awaiting the Return of Demand - NYTimes.com

This is the most obvious case of price manipulation and out right monopolistic behavior in the world.  I'm glad that the EU is doing something about this, but how in the world can the Justice Department defend not going after them.  I know that DeBeers settled a few years ago, but they are still behaving badly.  The consumer is being hurt, please do something.

Health Secretary Cordova Praised for Flu Response in Mexico - washingtonpost.com

Health Secretary Cordova Praised for Flu Response in Mexico - washingtonpost.com:

"'Now you hear some people saying that it was an excessive response. But what people seem to forget is that the reason why this crisis is now coming down was because the initial response was so vigorous,' said Julio Frenk, dean of the Harvard School of Public Health and Mexico's health secretary from 2000 to 2006."

everyone is talking about the media hype about the possibility of a pandemic, but the consequences are very high. It's not that some people will be out an election, but there is the very real possibility that millions could die. We are lucky that this virus is not as lethal as it could be, but we are lucky. If we were unlucky and it has been similar to any of the true pandemics of the past, many more people would have suffered and died. Bravo Mexico!

Annals of Innovation: How David Beats Goliath: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker

Annals of Innovation: How David Beats Goliath: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker

Another Gladwell classic. Disruption of the normal is difficult, but effective. How do you bottle that?

Big-Screen e-Readers May Help Save Newspapers - NYTimes.com

Big-Screen e-Readers May Help Save Newspapers - NYTimes.com

Another issue not brought up in this article is what about the cost of the reader? Papers cost about $1 and are very disposable and easy to give to others. The e-readers do not solve these problems. If they gave away the readers (or under $20) and charged a subscription they might gain some traction. A $200-$400 newspaper is not going to solve the main problem.