Meanwhile, back on the farm bill

The House Agriculture Committee has approved an unconscionable farm bill that protects grossly generous subsidies for the agriculture industry by cutting food stamps by a staggering $16.5 billion over the next decade.

(New York Times editorial, today)

Democrats wear thin

It appears that President Forward is going to spend the entire summer worrying about whatever Willard Mitt did at Bain Capital back in the 90's or so which is fine as far as it goes — I'm sure those Bains were up to no good, no good at all — but if he, President Forward, had spent even half as much energy jawboning about Goldman Sachs and BankAmerica and Wells Fargo and CitiCorp and, now, JPMorgan and the rest of that crowd (instead of appointing substantial numbers of their people to jobs in his own administration) maybe we'd be better off for it. And if he wants to talk about sending jobs overseas, maybe he should mention General Electric and his own economic advisor, Jeffery Immelt. And if he wants to discuss financial shenanigins, how about telling us what Gaitner knew, back in 2008, about cheating going on with the London interbank rate. 

President Forward thinks I am a fool, but mostly I'm just bored.

City Cables

City Cables, a photo by Ted Compton on Flickr.

Are you Skype-ready, Bunky?

Doctors say Facebook and video-chatting tools like Skype and FaceTime have partly fueled this decade’s boom in plastic surgery.

Here.

Wait! Maybe you can take it with you!

The fourth-generation funeral home and crematory is adding a new section to its existing facilities which includes business offices, a chapel, and a special wing aptly named "Coffee Corner," where soon a Starbucks will open.

Dude!

Morning light

Morning light, a photo by Ted Compton on Flickr.

Yes, that certainly does make sense

"Historically there is a very strong correlation between horse-riding and pants."

(Read all the rest.)

Tradition!

The Atlantic Wire (@TheAtlanticWire) 7/11/12 2:20 PM America's Olympic uniforms are still made in China theatln.tc/Mj0mYs

WARNING: It's from the Onion

NEW YORK—Frustrated fans of the Superman comic book said Monday the continued financial stability and cultural relevance of the series' Daily Planet newspaper is now the most unrealistic part of its universe and an annoying distraction that has ruined their reading experience.…

"I can play along with Superman using a steel girder to swat someone into outer space, but I just can't get past the idea that The Daily Planet still occupies one of the largest skyscrapers in all of Metropolis and is totally impervious to newsroom layoffs or dwindling home subscriptions," said comics blogger Marc Daigle, adding that it was impossible for him to even look at Superman's alter ego, Clark Kent, without immediately thinking he would have been replaced long ago by a freelancer who gets paid nine cents a word and receives no health benefits.…

(I think)

Ouch

Samsung won a victory over Apple in the UK high court as part of its world-spanning battle over intellectual property and design after a judge ruled the design of its Galaxy Tab isn't cool enough to be confused with an iPad.

Guardian

Pull here to open (ha ha sucker)

Also dump a big bunch of stuff all over your table there and make a real mess. Oh, and by the way, we buried a scoop you totally do not need in there so the first time you try to actually use the stuff that scoop will pop up and make an even bigger mess. Got you twice. Loser.

Who designs these boxes anyway?

Didn't like the look of those pitchforks, in other words

Reverse mortgages, a lifeline for seniors struggling to pay bills in allowing them to turn home equity into cash, are entering into foreclosure at an "alarming" rate, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray said Wednesday.…

The two largest reverse mortgage originators, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, exited the market in 2011. Wells Fargo cited concerns about the reputational risks of foreclosing on seniors as a result of tax and insurance defaults.

(Emphasis mine)

HuffPo

I have a breaking news app on my phone…

…and all weekend long I've been getting news flashes from Wimbledon.

I don't care.

– Pierre

Wonk of the Day

"The viability of the middle class is not a class issue,” said David Axelrod, the Obama campaign’s senior adviser.

Really.