Rolando Peñate

Marijuana: Less Dangerous Than Aspirin

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:11:12 -0500

I don’t for a minute buy cannabis “fatalities”. It’s impossible to kill yourself with pot. The press reports “cannabis-related” deaths which is surreal. David McCandless, who devised the…

Can The Prisons Be Reformed?

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:11:12 -0500

Can The Prisons Be Reformed?:

David Cole wonders:

[T]he prison boom has high costs for all of us. A new prison opens somewhere in the United States every week. Imprisoning a human being in this country costs a minimum of…

The Bishops And Health Insurance Reform, Ctd

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:11:12 -0500

The Bishops And Health Insurance Reform, Ctd:

A reader writes:

As your earlier reader noted in passing, the Catholic Bishops refused to accept the “segregation” of federal funds from abortion dollars. Under that scheme, health insurance…

China claim of the day

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:25:36 -0500

China claim of the day:

If China remains culturally closed, the Chinese Century will never come to pass. Instead, the United States—a country that has struggled with race and racism for centuries, and in the process…

House Dems who voted against the health care bill: http://bit.ly/2pdxmY (ht @maddow, via @joolou)

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:50:39 -0500

House Dems who voted against the health care bill: http://bit.ly/2pdxmY (ht @maddow, via @joolou)

High-speed rail fact of the day

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:13:50 -0500

High-speed rail fact of the day:

American Intercity rail service is slower today than it was in the 1940s.

Here is the full article, by train expert Mark Reutter. It is a good look at some of the obstacles facing a…

The Dems Who Punted

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:13:50 -0500

The Dems Who Punted:

The reasons seem pretty obvious:

The party-buckers on the 220-215 vote on Saturday night included 39 Democrats who voted against the bill. Of them, 31 represent districts that voted for John…

The South Retreats

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:14:38 -0500

The South Retreats:

DiA notices that the leaders of both parties are no longer overwhelmingly southern:

Southerners haven’t lost their country, but they have lost power—a power they disproportionately enjoyed for…

Why it's harder than before to get into your favorite college

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:14:38 -0500

Why it's harder than before to get into your favorite college:

Caroline Hoxby reports:

This paper shows that although the top ten percent of colleges are substantially more selective now than they were 5 decades ago, most colleges are not more selective….

Beyond Arithmetic

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:14:37 -0500

Beyond Arithmetic:

Jonah Lehrer reviews some research showing the cognitive benefits of arts education:

The current obsession with measuring learning certainly has some benefits (accountability is good), but it…

Cantor Fail

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:51:20 -0500

Cantor Fail:

It’s good to see Eric Cantor actually distance himself from the notion that Obama is another Hitler, and to talk of inclusion as an important GOP value. But when you see what his actual proposals…

No one likes the Homebuyer Tax Credit: http://bit.ly/1o8R5T (via @GOODfeed)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:42:23 -0500

No one likes the Homebuyer Tax Credit: http://bit.ly/1o8R5T (via @GOODfeed)

Sen. Burr took $700k from defense contractors and the Chamber of Commerce—then sided with them...

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:44:00 -0500

Sen. Burr took $700k from defense contractors and the Chamber of Commerce—then sided with them against rape victims: http://bit.ly/oHpUb

“Too big to fail is too big” is not a new idea (http://bit.ly/3FyMUo), @whitmo. Heard of...

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:44:00 -0500

“Too big to fail is too big” is not a new idea (http://bit.ly/3FyMUo), @whitmo. Heard of the Glass-Steagall Act? http://bit.ly/1hBefd

Hacking the senses

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:39:15 -0500

Hacking the senses:

Researchers have been able to create new human senses of a sort…and to cross-pollinate two different senses in order to, for example, see with your tongue.

With Arnoldussen behind me carrying…

Fort Worth Raid Update

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:42:33 -0500

Fort Worth Raid Update:

A reader writes:

Just wanted to give you a heads up - the breaking news here in Dallas is that both the Fort Worth Police and TABC are releasing their internal investigations into the Rainbow…

The Not So Best And Brightest

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:37:11 -0500

The Not So Best And Brightest:

Andrea Stone reports:

The latest Army statistics show a stunning 75 percent of military-age youth are ineligible to join the military because they are overweight, can’t pass entrance exams,…

INSIGHT: Designs take a leap forward when you kill

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:37:11 -0500

INSIGHT: Designs take a leap forward when you kill:

Designs take a leap forward when you kill the things you didn’t know you were holding on to.

Hip-hop tribute to Alexander Hamilton: http://bit.ly/1muRdD (via @byoungsmith)

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:21:09 -0500

Hip-hop tribute to Alexander Hamilton: http://bit.ly/1muRdD (via @byoungsmith)

Obama: The Long View Nine Months In

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:25:06 -0500

Obama: The Long View Nine Months In:

Here’s my defense of the Obama presidency at this early, but still critical, juncture:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Andrew Sullivan
…