Two new books explore the phenomenon of a-holism:
An a-hole is not a psychopath, but he does feel a right to do what he does — cut to the head of the line, weave in and out of traffic, hijack the conversation — and is surprised by, or simply disregards, others’ objections to his behavior. Also, there is a pettiness to the a-hole’s deeds. And a-holism presupposes a level of intimacy and familiarity.
When she's right, she's right:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says in a new interview that she can’t stand “whining” by women who are unhappy with the work and family choices they’ve made in life and complain that they have no options.
It’s worth noting, in the wake of three major national debates, that all four national candidates — Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Joe Biden and Paul Ryan – seem to think of themselves as superheroes. Among other predictions, they suggest that they themselves will create jobs, jumpstart the economy, achieve energy independence, save Medicare and improve higher education.
This sounds about right:
The inaugural results of a new Gallup question -- posed to more than 120,000 U.S. adults thus far -- shows that 3.4% say "yes" when asked if they identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.
[. . .]
A case study in unintended consequences:
As Chicago struggles to quell gang violence that has contributed to a jump in homicides, a top elected official wants to tax the sale of every bullet and firearm - an effort even she acknowledges could spark a legal challenge.
We are announcing this morning an important development at Newsweek and The Daily Beast. Newsweek will transition to an all-digital format in early 2013. As part of this transition, the last print edition in the United States will be our Dec. 31 issue.
Hey, we haven't had a "research proves the obvious" post for a while. So here's a "well, duh" gem:
ATLANTA (CBS Atlanta)- Most people are familiar with the famed “five second rule,” which states that if dropped food is picked up off the floor within five seconds of contact, it is still safe to consume.
Though a popular belief, a new study has found that germs often win the race.
See there, I have an excuse:
Creativity is often part of a mental illness, with writers particularly susceptible, according to a study of more than a million people.
Writers had a higher risk of anxiety and bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, unipolar depression, and substance abuse, the Swedish researchers at the Karolinska Institute found.
The search for perfect fairness marches on. French President Francois Hollande has proposed banning homework as part of a school reform package:
French schoolkids already put in long school days: 8:30 to 4:30 or longer. But that's not Hollande's concern. In fact, he wants to extend the school week from 4 days to 4.5.
Don't get complacent about the squirrel population explosion. They're spying on us, you know.
If a prominent sports figure puts his medals, plaques or championship rings up for sale, more often than not, it's out of desperation after a spending spree or a bad investment plunged him into debt.
In Bob Knight's case, the reason is apparently far more benevolent.
I agree -- wish we were hearing about judicial nominations from the presidential candidates:
Some men in a small Maine town are probably getting more than a little nervous about now:
KENNEBUNK, Maine — Police on Monday released the first round of names of more than 100 men accused of paying for sex with a Zumba instructor who's charged with turning her dance studio into a brothel in this seaside community.
Hey, dudes, bet you thought "hip right-winger" was an oxymoron:
DENVER (AP) — It's not all hippies backing November's marijuana legalization votes in Colorado, Oregon and Washington.
Huh. Never thought of "stressing women out" as part of my job description:
A new study has found that a woman’s sensitivity to stress is heightened by reading bad news stories.
The same study also reportedly found that men are not affected the same way by similar press coverage.
Kind of bad news that women get more stressed by bad news, isn't it? Ho hum. Don't care. Time to move on.
The conservative Weekly Standard has an interesting and (I think) perceptive look at how Indiana's "people's choice" health-care approach offers a good alternative to the top-down Obamacare's approach:
Both jittery church goers and smug atheists are making too much out of that Pew poll revealing that a fifth of the U.S. public, and a third of adults under 30, aren't affiliated with any religion today, a 15 percent increase in the past five years:
News you're not likely to see on any front pages:
The world stopped getting warmer almost 16 years ago, according to new data released last week.
Sigh. I could have gone all week without reading this:
The number of Americans reading print newspapers, magazines and books is in rapid decline.
I guess we all know what happens next:
(CNN) -- There's no escaping the fact that the Human Brain Project, with its billion-dollar plan to recreate the human mind inside a supercomputer, sounds like a science fiction nightmare.
