Some truly devastating news over at the other blog. The guy who got me into blogging is gone. He was 38.
College Costs
Here’s a question. Why is that every missive I read about the high cost of college only demands more federal payouts? This is in sharp contrast to complaints about … oh, let’s say … drug prices … which demand that the evil evil drug companies take huge cuts in prices and profits. Or the evil evil healthcare providers, who should take a haircut on their fees.
WTF Shooting
I’m sorry. Your wife cheats on you so you respond by murdering your five children? I’ve noticed a tendency in recent weeks to blame any shooting — especially last week’s Binghampton tragedy — on the economy. Garbage. These people are crazy. If it weren’t a job or a cheating wife, it would be because the TV told them to.
DC’s Latest
As the Democrats continue to stubbornly dismantle DC’s voucher program in order to placate their union supporters, it may interest you to know that the latest (and last?) study of the program shows that voucher students are doing better at 1/4 of the cost of non-voucher students.
I mean, just in case you gave a shit about education or something.
Vindicated
A study claims that browsing the internet at work actually increases your productivity by allowing your mind to refocus.
I’m skeptical of sociological studies but this is one I absolutely endorse. I am convinced that it is 100% accurate.
Unintended
Read this article about how the federal government, through bad legislation, is going to have to pay out $8 billion to paper companies for burning fossil fuels they don’t need to.
And people think they should be running healthcare.
UFOs
I thought I had posted about the show UFO Hunters but can’t find it in the archives. Short story — while I was home for the holidays, I caught some episodes and it was easily one of the stupid most pseudoscientific shows I’d ever seen. They spent an entire episode making noises about what was obviously an F-16 making a sonic boom. They probed an “impact crater” that was clearly a sinkhole. It was hilarious.
Which is why this story, about some guys faking a UFO incident, warms my heart. It’s completely with clips from UFO Hunters.
What The?
Indoor penguin pool? Indoor penguin pool.
Jenny From The Blech
Orac fisks Jenny McCarthy’ latest interview in which she says, no kidding, that kids should get measles to assuage her fantasies about autism.
Abandoned
This story breaks your heart. A trust company that organized surrogate motherhoods has pulled a Madoff on their clients. So far, there have been no resulting abortions. But a lot of people are going to be out a lot of money over this — not to mention the emotional strain to both expectant parents and surrogate mothers.
Ugh.
Wednesday Linkorama
Don’t Touch
This whole business of whether Michelle Obama touched the Queen is matter of supreme indifference to me. I don’t give a rat’s ass for monarchs and I severely doubt most of the British public cares. This is only of interest to that odd and annoying group — Royal Watchers.
Villains
Cracked goes over six men where were vilified beyond what they earned.
The Bandit Is Caught
Just in case we thought that DNA evidence was perfect:
Police in Germany have admitted that a woman they have been hunting for more than 15 years never in fact existed.
Dubbed the “phantom of Heilbronn”, the woman was described by police as the country’s most dangerous woman.
Investigators had connected her to six murders and an unsolved death based on DNA traces found at the scene.
Police now acknowledge swabs used to collect DNA samples were contaminated by an innocent woman working in a factory in Bavaria
I like this bit:
One company making swabs said they were not intended for analytical, but only medical use, while another said that there had been no requirement for the swabs to be free of DNA.
Egad. Well, at least she’s not this guy:
DNA Evidence Frees Black Man Convicted Of Bear Attack