The cure for our Ebola panic is more panic - The Washington Post
"If the odds of contracting Ebola in the USA are as comparatively slim as people say, this does not mean that we are too panicked about Ebola."This means we are not panicking enough about everything else."
Plutocrats Against Democracy - NYTimes.com
"American politicians don’t dare say outright that only the wealthy should have political rights — at least not yet. But if you follow the currents of thought now prevalent on the political right to their logical conclusion, that’s where you end up."The truth is that a lot of what’s going on in American politics is, at root, a fight between democracy and plutocracy. And it’s by no means clear which side will win."
–Krugman
Deli Selling 'Genderless Organic Vegan' Gingerbread Cookies | National Review Online
"By the way, Organic Food & Wine isn’t the only business on the genderless cookie bandwagon. A bakery in Dublin is apparently selling ‘Halloween gingerbread fun people,’ according to a picture posted on Twitter as reported by news.au.com."
Your Jeans May Be Changing The Color Of Your iPhone 6 - Business Insider
"Many people are complaining that their new iPhone 6 is slowly changing color as the dye from their jeans is rubbing off on the plastic strips found on the reverse side of the phone. "
Royals panties confiscated from Kansas City lingerie shop by Homeland Security - NY Daily News
"In an underwear-related manner that is apparently a matter of national importance, the Department of Homeland Security descended upon a women's lingerie shop in Kansas City, Mo., according to The Wichita Eagle. The federal officers were there to stop the business - Birdies Panties - from making undies with the Royals logo during the team's Cinderella run to the World Series."
The Lone Ranger, 1937: Conjuring the Magic of the Radio Age | LIFE.com
"Eighty years ago, in 1933, with the unmistakable thunder of the William Tell Overture pounding from the speaker and a stirring shout of ‘Hi-yo, Silver! Away!’ the indelible hero—the creation of radio station-owner George Trendle and writer Fran Striker—made his debut on Detroit’s WXYZ radio. "
Students at a Nebraska High School Can Now Pose With Guns in Their Senior Portraits | Mother Jones
"‘The board, I believe, felt they wanted to give students who are involved in those kinds of things the opportunity to take a senior picture with their hobby, with their sport, just like anybody with any other hobby or sport,’ Superintendent Mark Sievering explained to local paper, the Omaha World-Herald."
Bears 24, Patriots 21: Wait, what? - Chicago Sun-Times
"The Bears make all of us dumber. You. Me. The local amoeba population."
Or how about “Just another autumn day in Chicago”?
The Death of Klinghoffer at the Metropolitan Opera Needs Scandal | New Republic
"Morton Klein, president of the right-wing Zionist Organization of America, called Klinghoffer an ‘Operatic Kristallnacht’ (I imagine anti-Semitic, glass-shattering high C’s). Truthfully, I do not know if the opera offers ‘a distorted view of history,’ as former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani claimed, or if ‘It’s required for the Met to do the piece,’ as a supporter countered. But the strident moralism of both sides drowns out the quieter sounds of tickets being sold and seats filled. In fact, protests are good business for the Met, and scandal is central to the economy of high culture."
The Big Bank Backlash Begins - ProPublica
"Last week, I visited an alternate universe. The real world sees a pandemic of bank misconduct, but to the white-collar defense lawyers of Washington, the banks are the victims as they bow beneath the weight of regulators' remarkably harsh punishments."
Travelers coming from Ebola-stricken countries are now restricted to five US airports | The Verge
Like drugs, for example. Or OMG MEXICANS. Or Canadians—Hollywood is littered with ‘em. Or Puritans, for that matter. Remember them? They just sailed right in.
A Bad Idea Gets Worser - Esquire
"You really do have to admire the way they've done it. At the federal level, a Supreme Court full of appointed justices opens the sluicegates for unlimited corporate money to flood the system, which results in unprecedented levels of corruption and deceit in the state courts while, at the same time, the unelected judges of the Supreme Court make it more difficult for certain people in those states -- often, the people who find themselves facing the sharp end of a decision handed down in a state court by an elected judge -- to vote out the puppet show that the state courts have become. It is as complete a strategy as any coup d'etat in any banana republic, but far more respectable. "
On Ebola Response, Congressional Republicans Put New Focus on Visa Suspensions - NYTimes.com
"Days of news media fixation, mounting public concern and political pot-stirring have created an odd dichotomy in which leadership aides on Capitol Hill are urging caution while candidates on the campaign trail are pressing hot buttons. House Republican leadership aides have repeatedly said lawmakers are not calling for an actual ban of airline flights, even as the likes of Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, and Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, have done just that."
Rwanda Flips The Script, Will Screen All Travelers From U.S. For Ebola
"Rwanda has not been affected by the current Ebola outbreak, which is centered in West Africa. By contrast, there have been three confirmed cases of Ebola on U.S. soil."
5 shocking reasons why Americans are getting fatter - Salon.com
"Yes, the government is talking out of both sides of its mouth when it tells the public what to put in its mouth."
I know, I know, it’s not an easy knot to untangle. Government support for health care and concern for public health and desire to contain health costs and, yes, promote the general welfare and OMG DON’T EAT THAT POTATO CHIP…
Sorry. But, really…
Obama's Ebola Czar Is A Dangerous Mistake: Here Are Three Who Could Do The Job
"Bill Frist. A renowned heart and lung transplant surgeon who decided to enter politics…"
Security Cameras Keep Watch Over Greenfield
"‘My first impulse is to feel very uncomfortable,’ says Greenfield resident Joseph Panzica."
Oh.
"Phillip Lechter said he was visiting the University of Arizona with his family on 11 October when the rickshaw he was travelling in…"
SmartNews - Your news in one minute
So if you’re wondering about the Kardashians and stuff…
Pumpkin Festival Riot Leaves Injuries, Arrests And Destruction
The town of Keene, NH, is just up the road from here and, although I don’t go every year (there are just so many carved pumpkins one can see), I have been there two or three times. Its not as good as the one in Circleville, of course, but it’s almost certainly bigger, as in Guiness-record bigger, so that’s something. Apparently this year it was messier as well.
Is California's drought worse than the Dust Bowl? - CSMonitor.com
“…the current drought is just a small fry compared with the one in 1934, which marked the start of a severe dry spell that spanned a decade, and eventually earned the name the Dust Bowl."
Pentagon plans Ebola domestic-response team of medical experts to aid doctors - The Washington Post
"The Pentagon announced Sunday that it will create a 30-person team of medical experts that could quickly leap into a region if new Ebola cases emerge in the United States…"
Woohoo!
Here's How Nigeria Beat Ebola | Mother Jones
"Update, October 20, 11 a.m EDT: Forty-two days after Nigeria's last infection, the World Health Organization has officially declared the country 'free of Ebola virus transmission.'"
Or Fox News. Whatever the reason, Nigeria seems to be doing better than Texas.
Why Are Patriots Fans So Damned Miserable? - Eric Wilbur's Sports Blog - Boston.com
"One week from now, the Patriots will host the Chicago Bears, kicking off a difficult stretch in which they will play against the aforementioned Bears, as well as the Broncos. Colts, Lions, and Packers, all teams more worthy of the cupcake schedule that New England doggie-paddled over the first seven weeks"
Goliath Encounter: Puppy-Sized Spider Surprises Scientist in Rainforest - Yahoo News
"The birdeater's enormity is evident from the sounds it makes. 'Its feet have hardened tips and claws that produce a very distinct, clicking sound, not unlike that of a horse's hooves hitting the ground,' he wrote, but 'not as loud.'"
Quieter, in other words. So you can’t hear them coming.
Ebola plush toys fly off the shelf for Connecticut company - Yahoo News
"It may be the only time you will find these words in the same sentence: 'Ebola' and 'Add to Wishlist.'"
Sold out, they are, for now. But there are still a lot of fun toys to be had. Why not curl up with this plush bed bug?
