Question all authority but the educator’s seems to be the order of business at many schools.  (I noticed that trend as my kids went through K-12, and I noticed it getting worse over the years.)

Mouth of Giant Black Hole Measured.  No word yet on whether it’s the one located over US treasury.

Apparently there’s a New Theory On Why Men Love Breasts.  (And here, I thought the old theory “because they’re men” was just fine.)

If you read urban fantasy and also like police procedurals, you might want to consider Nocturnal Origins (full disclosure, the author is a friend. However, the book’s unusual combination of fantasy and realism makes it worth it on its own merits.)

Meanwhile at her newly-revived blog, the author of the book linked above wonders Would you trust California with your retirement plan?

Firefly and lessons in contract law.

The Weekly Winston: Middle East Edition

The Winter of Our Discontent and the September Of Obama’s Incompetence.

News you can use: Looking at cute animal pictures at work may boost performance.

How is an e-reader like an octopus?  No, that’s not a joke.  Apparently we’re studying how octopuses use ink to improve e-readers.

Libya Timeline shows an administration that can’t shoot straight and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence falls on its sword to preserve the administration.

OBAMA’S ECONOMIC FATALISM: I’ve seen this among my lefty acquaintances.  They assume decay is inevitable.  I think it comes from economic illiteracy and first-world-guilt (which in turn comes from not knowing that wealth can be created, so more economic illiteracy).  Couple that with Obama’s world-bestriding ego, and you have a recipe for disaster.

UPDATE, FROM READER ERIC SCHUBERT:
In several related ways, I see the liberal pessimism Sarah Hoyt describes
as a classic case of projection:

1. The Blue Social Model is in decline. If you’re heavily invested in it,
then the socioeconomic trends that are moving us away from it are
devastating to your self-worth. Contrast that view with the Whiggish
Optimism (leavened with a heavy dose of the Doctrine of Original Sin) that
we see with Walter Russell Mead’s blog.

2. If her liberal friends are gentry liberals who have career paths that
are in decline, then the rise of successful upstarts in unrelated fields
undermines the status of her liberal friends.

3. Racism, sexism, and homophobia are fading rapidly as roadblocks to
personal happiness and professional success. How does a liberal feel
superior and smug when all but the most narrow-minded accept diversity?

Eric Schubert
Katy, TX

YOU MAY QUOTE WITH ATTRIBUTION

Eric — Most of my friends are novelists, wedded to the old model of doing fiction-business.

For a change I don’t know this person.  But I got this book from Amazon when it was free, and enjoyed it, so I think it deserves mention.  In The Blood: A Genealogical Crime Mystery should entertain anyone who is interested in either genealogy, historical mysteries or cozies.  Pleasant diversion if you’re having a lazy Saturday.

What’s behind the poll dances?  Zombie explores.

Obama phone humor.

Found on facebookAnd in terms of electoral campaign, go you and do likewise metaphorically speaking.  The individualists always fail to organize, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be effective.  Look at the teaparty.

I also can’t afford THIS.

Where would four more years of this lead us?  I have children.  I can’t afford this.

What Do Propofol, Helium and Manganese Ferro Alloy Have In Common?  We’re running out of all of them

This is somewhat old, but just too cool.  The question is, how do you find the tiny maidens to feed it?

This feels wrong.  It just does.

Celebrating a lost decade in housing!  Whoo Whoo….

To every woman who thinks there’s a giant conspiracy of males to keep them down — it’s true.  And the sneaky men are even in your brain!

It’s an adorable cross-eyed cat!  Because life is about more than just politics.  (And if I dressed even one of my cats in one of those outfits, I’d be dictating my books the rest of my life, because I’d no longer have fingers.)

Internet bullies aren’t trolls.  They’re disgusting cowards!

Fran Tarkenton on What Is Wrong with the Koch Brothers: “Since their business began, the Koch brothers have been part of the value-creating class, not the crony class of business owners.”