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Most Talked About Slate Stories

Business Insider: A terrific news source.

slate.com — Imagine a used car salesman who learns that the shiny Mercedes in his lot has a busted engine. He tells his friends not to go near the lemon, but when he notices a long line of people coming in to see the car, he decides to add $10,000 to the...
Holly Epstein Ojalvo Editor, Learning Network, New York Times @heoj
Business Insider Kinda Brilliant. Why @HBlodget is best on the Facebook story. by @farhadmanjoo in @Slate http://t.co/nF8yCcIU
Matt Buchanan Editor, FWD, BuzzFeed @mattbuchanan
a defense of business insider: http://t.co/WUBwTPzd
Farhad Manjoo Slate Technology Columnist and PandoDaily Contributor, Slate @fmanjoo
BOMBSHELL: Business Insider Kinda Brilliant. Why @HBlodget is best on the Facebook story. Me @Slate. http://t.co/NLKwJeGk
Chadwick Matlin Senior Editor, Reuters Opinion, Reuters @ChadwickMatlin
There is a subtle Honey Badger reference in @fmanjoo's piece on the merits of Business Insider, and it's quite good. http://t.co/QKQlnqKw

Democrats do not have wealthy super Pacs to eliminate politicians in primary season.

slate.com — Republican Thomas Massie has a terrific shot at winning a seat in Congress. He's an outsider-only one little local victory on the resume-in a year when that's still popular. His district, Kentucky's fourth, is a cluster of coal counties and rich suburbs that's started to go solidly GOP. By primary...
Ari Melber Correspondent and Blogger, The Nation @AriMelber
Why no liberal SuperPacs for primaries?, asks @daveweigel http://t.co/2USveliA
Dave Weigel Political Reporter, Slate @daveweigel
RT @AriMelber: Why no liberal SuperPacs for primaries?, asks @daveweigel http://t.co/sQYPrxCA
Dave Weigel Political Reporter, Slate @daveweigel
Advisers to big liberal billionaires tell me why they won't help Dem Super PACs and primary moderates. http://t.co/gjePklz5

Southwest & United Clash in the Battle of Houston

slate.com — Houston, like several American cities, has two airports. One, Hobby, is older smaller and closer to downtown. The other, Bush, is bigger newer and further away. Since United merged with Continental the combined airline has an utterly dominant position at Bush Airport.
Kevin W. Glass Assistant Managing Editor, Washington Examiner @KevinWGlass
Reminder: "big business" and "market competition" are almost always clashing. http://t.co/wAhQ4rFZ from @mattyglesias
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
How @United is trying to convince Houston to turn down $100 million in free infrastructure from @Southwest: http://t.co/FwJYLg5i

Play along with Moonrise Kingdom using our bingo-board generator.

slate.com — We give you Wes Anderson Bingo. How do you play? It's simpler than Whack-Bat. Just watch any Wes Anderson movie, and whenever you spot one of the Anderson trademarks listed on your board, click that square to place a special Wes Anderson chip. (You can also print out a set of boards and chips to play offline.)
Chandra Steele Senior Features Writer, PCMag.com @ChanSteele
Introducing Wes Anderson Bingo http://t.co/eqpoCPJO Imagine this tweet is written in yellow Futura.

The Bomb Hidden in Mitt Romney's Education Plan

slate.com — The basic idea of Romney's thinking on K-12 education is to walk away from the standards-and-accountability approach that's dominated in both the Bush and Obama administrations and double down on the choice thread of reform. Romney's white paper also doesn't say anything about levels of federal education spending, but given his overall budget commitments this is likely a big difference between his approach and Obama's.
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
The enormous bomb hidden in Mitt Romney's education plan: http://t.co/YDAV3YhI

Play along with Moonrise Kingdom using our bingo-board generator.

slate.com — We give you Wes Anderson Bingo. How do you play? It's simpler than Whack-Bat. Just watch any Wes Anderson movie, and whenever you spot one of the Anderson trademarks listed on your board, click that square to place a special Wes Anderson chip. (You can also print out a set of boards and chips to play offline.)
John Swansburg Culture Editor, Slate @swansburg
Play Wes Anderson bingo: http://t.co/WxHK9y84

Edward Humes, author of Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair With Trash, interviewed.

slate.com — Listen to Episode 12 of The Afterword: Subscribe in iTunes ∙ RSS feed ∙ Download ∙ Play in another tab This episode of The Afterword is brought to you by Audible. Get a free audiobook and 30-day trial today by signing up at www.audiblepodcast.com/afterword. As Edward Humes points out in...
June Thomas Foreign Editor, Slate @junethomas
In the latest episode of The Afterword, I talk trash with Edward Humes, author of Garbology: http://t.co/7mk9Lr5i

Are concussions responsible?

Jeremy Singer-Vine Columnist, Wall Street Journal @jsvine
Dan Engber's persuasively skeptical take on the purported link between athletes' concussions and suicide: http://t.co/mtxmGdFR

Harvard and the Chinese Communist Party: Top Chinese officials are studying at elite U.S. universities in large numbers.

slate.com — Harvard and China have one thing in common: They both consider themselves to be the center of the world. So, it was always inevitable that when the scandal that brought down Chongqing party boss Bo Xilai broke, the repercussions would be felt, somehow, in Cambridge. The connection, it turned out,...
Ray Kwong Contributing Writer, ChinaTalk, Forbes @raykwong
RT @kchungdawson "Why is Harvard training the next generation of Chinese Communist Party leaders?" http://t.co/d4cGErp5
Louisa Lim Beijing Correspondent, NPR @limlouisa
RT @kchungdawson: "Why is Harvard training the next generation of Chinese Communist Party leaders?" http://t.co/X6B1kuiK

Facebook, George Lucas, and NIMBYism: The idiotic rules preventing Silicon Valley from building the houses and offices we need to power American innovation. - Slate Magazine

slate.com — What does George Lucas have to do with Facebook? They're both embroiled in an extremely dire Bay Area housing shortage that's holding back the region's economic potential. This is a problem not just for the Bay Area but for the country as a whole. The stretch of the United States...
Frankie Taggart Hong Kong Editor, AFP @frankietaggart
Silicon Valley housing crisis a bar to American innovation http://t.co/z4kb8eAd

marinated veggie burgers that actually taste good.

slate.com — Now forget everything you know about veggie burgers. Veggie burgers don't have to be to hamburgers what The Wedgewoods were to The Beatles (at least according to ). In fact, they shouldn't really try to imitate hamburgers much at all: We don't yet have the technology to make fake beef that tastes anything but disquieting.
Patrick Doyle Executive Editor, Boston Magazine @patrickcdoyle
RT @kaitkylejohn: Amen. RT @Slate: The right way to make a veggie burger is to NOT imitate a hamburger: http://t.co/MFizUqUg
Kaitlyn Johnston Digital Editor, Boston Magazine @kaitkylejohn
Amen. RT @slate: The right way to make a veggie burger is to remember that you should NOT imitate a hamburger: http://t.co/I0ETxgyo

Democrats do not have wealthy super Pacs to eliminate politicians in primary season.

mobile.slate.com — Republican Thomas Massie has a terrific shot at winning a seat in Congress. He's an outsider-only one little local victory on the resume-in a year when that's still popular. His district, Kentucky's fourth, is a cluster of coal counties and rich suburbs that's started to go solidly GOP. By primary...
Andrew Kaczynski Politics Reporter, BuzzFeed @BuzzFeedAndrew
Good piece. RT @daveweigel: New @Slate: Why won't liberal tycoons save the lefty Super PACs? http://t.co/X2ez2RKx
Dave Weigel Political Reporter, Slate @daveweigel
New @Slate: Why won't liberal tycoons save the lefty Super PACs? http://t.co/dNF9UWVV

New study showing children make you happier is less persuasive upon closer examination.

slate.com — For years now, studies have been coming out showing that the impact of having children has on one's happiness is negative, delighting the willfully childless who have long suspected parents who bully us about our unwillingness to reproduce are just misery seeking company.
Amanda Marcotte Columnist, Guardian America, Guardian @AmandaMarcotte
http://t.co/3Mannrz4 I love defensive parents who use Social Security solvency as an argument. No one has ever had a kid for that reason.
Timothy P. Carney Senior Political Columnist, Washington Examiner @TPCarney
"really hard to.. justify the belief that you're adding something imprtant... by adding more ppl to pollute the planet" http://t.co/CBh15qRa
Suzy Khimm Political Reporter, Mother Jones @SuzyKhimm
Children Make You Happier, If Someone Else Does Most of the Work. http://t.co/pFBrY1bi
Max Fisher International Editor, The Atlantic @Max_Fisher
Sounds right. RT @SuzyKhimm: Children Make You Happier, If Someone Else Does Most of the Work. http://t.co/6ulQmglA

Facebook, George Lucas, and NIMBYism: The idiotic rules preventing Silicon Valley from building the houses and offices we need to power American innovation. - Slate Magazine

slate.com — What does George Lucas have to do with Facebook? They're both embroiled in an extremely dire Bay Area housing shortage that's holding back the region's economic potential. This is a problem not just for the Bay Area but for the country as a whole. The stretch of the United States...
David Shepardson Washington Bureau Chief, Detroit News @davidshepardson
Slate notes that between 1900-1930 Detroit added 1.3 million people; compares auto boom to Silicon Valley http://t.co/00DLd8CS
Bryan Walsh Environmental Columnist, Time Magazine @bryanrwalsh
More on how NIMBYism holds us back: http://t.co/Hl95VMGW

Did Some Appalachian Whites Oppose Obama Because of His Race? Yes. Of Course.

slate.com — Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake spend around 1100 words teasing out the uncomfortable questions about Barack Obama's piss-poor Kentucky/Arkansas primary results. Yes, Obama's blackness is probably something that causes a few white voters to shudder. But...
Dave Weigel Political Reporter, Slate @daveweigel
One way to solve this "do Appalachian whites dislike Obama bc he's black?" mystery: Check 2008 exit polls. http://t.co/jor0nq5e

Facebook IPO: Has social networking supplanted real innovation in Silicon Valley?

slate.com — Silicon Valley has a Facebook hangover. Five days after the company's giant IPO, the social network's stock is slumping, and there are rumblings that it will sink further still. But it's not just the share price that's got the tech industry in the doldrums. Over the last few days-and in...
Jason Hiner Editor in Chief, TechRepublic @jasonhiner
Critics say Facebook is ruining Silicon Valley. @fmanjoo argues why they’re wrong http://t.co/x22r1J7z
Paul Kedrosky Business Blogger, Bloomberg News @pkedrosky
Have meager patience for "innovation has ended" meme, but this drippy agreement almost made me disagree with me http://t.co/QEXahnUe
Farhad Manjoo Slate Technology Columnist and PandoDaily Contributor, Slate @fmanjoo
Has Facebook Ruined Silicon Valley? Critics say social networking has supplanted innovation. They’re wrong. http://t.co/gUjtBzrt

Dumb women: Do men find them more attractive?

slate.com — Ask a straight man, "How do you like your women?" and it's unlikely he'll answer, "Dumb and sleepy." But according to new findings, these characteristics-and any other traits suggesting that the lady isn't particularly alert-are precisely what the human male has evolved to look for in a one-night-stand. In an...
Jessica Wakeman Blogger, The Frisky @JessicaWakeman
Oh for fucks sake RT @Slate: Do men find dumb-looking women more attractive? The new study that says yes: http://t.co/LxANOeBz
Jesse Bering Columnist, Scientific American @JesseBering
My latest at Slate: http://t.co/NBILekuz

David Vann, Wes Anderson, Philip Glass: In defense of artists who always return to the same themes.

slate.com — A couple of things occurred to me while groping my happily horrified way through David Vann's new novel Dirt. The first is that Vann has a serious thing about cabins, and, more specifically, about terrible stuff happening in them. In Legend of a Suicide, his stunning debut collection of obliquely...
Sinead Gleeson Freelance Journalist @sineadgleeson
Hat-tip to @mrkocnnll for the Banville tennis link. Read his piece on authors/film-makers who keep making the same work http://t.co/Qh712sfR
Brian Hughes White House, Presidential Campaign, and Maryland Politics Reporter, Washington Examiner @BrianHughes_
RT @Slate: So what if Wes Anderson keeps re-exploring the same themes. His voice is distinctive and that's what counts: http://t.co/YFqmq6pd
Andy Kroll Staff Reporter, Mother Jones @AndrewKroll
MT @Slate: So what if Wes Anderson keeps re-exploring the same themes. His voice is distinctive & that's what counts: http://t.co/vvZvnkB9
Sinead Gleeson Freelance Journalist @sineadgleeson
Made me think of John McGahern RT @mrkocnnll How artists repeating themselves isn't always a bad thing (see David Vann) http://t.co/Qh712sfR

C-30 surveillance bill in Canada seeks live wiretap of Internet communications.

slate.com — As reported yesterday by Canadian academic Michael Geist, at a September 2011 meeting that included Microsoft, RIM, Bell Canada, Cogeco, Telus, Rogers, and the Information Technology Association of Canada, a government policy document (see below) was distributed, offering guidance to accompany the planned Internet surveillance legislation.
Ryan Gallagher Freelance Journalist @rj_gallagher
Canadian gov't wants live wiretap of Internet communications, held secret meetings w/ telecoms firms http://t.co/LgY1gfFN #C30 #surveillance

Debating Private Equity: What Are We Talking About?

slate.com — The Obama campaign's attacks on Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital make perfect sense to me as basically a character attack. Smart ambitious people choose different lines of work for different reasons, and it takes a certain kind of ruthlessness to decide to spend your life doing leverage buyouts and initiating mass layoffs.
Chrystia Freeland Global Editor-at-Large, Reuters @cafreeland
RT @mattyglesias: What is it we're actualy disagreeing about when we debate private equity? http://t.co/xNnARoNa
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
What is it we're actualy disagreeing about when we debate private equity? http://t.co/xNnARoNa

Dumb women: Do men find them more attractive?

slate.com — Ask a straight man, "How do you like your women?" and it's unlikely he'll answer, "Dumb and sleepy." But according to new findings, these characteristics-and any other traits suggesting that the lady isn't particularly alert-are precisely what the human male has evolved to look for in a one-night-stand. In an...
Eric Michael Johnson Blogger, Scientific American @ericmjohnson
Once again 100 American undergraduate students are determining "natural" human sexual behavior. Cultural bias anyone? http://t.co/qgBy09Rd

Romney Promises 6 Percent Unemployment in a Brilliantly Slippery Way

slate.com — I can tell you that over a period of four years, by virtue of the policies that we'd put in place, we'd get the unemployment rate down to 6%, and perhaps a little lower. The Huffington Post's Sam Stein suggests (via Twitter) that Romney has made the mistake Barack Obama's team made in early 2009.
JoshCornfield Night City Editor, Philadelphia Daily News @JoshCornfield
RT @slate: Romney promises 6 percent unemployment in a brilliantly slippery way: http://t.co/s3zoCCGB

More Polarization, Less Corruption

slate.com — Why does the U.S. military pay $17,000 for a drip pan to catch transmission fluid on Black Hawk helicopters when other military helicopters get by with drip pans that cost as little as $2,500? The answer is simple.
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
RT @CREWcrew: @Mattyglesias digs into the Hal Rogers helicopter saga: http://t.co/euYSPFwJ - No mention of our orig research or year of ...
Radley Balko Senior Editor, Reason @radleybalko
RT @normative: Dead on // The Real Source of Corruption in Congress: Members' Good-Faith Efforts To Help People http://t.co/1RAkHIom
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
It's not just campaign contributions, House members do corrupt things to genuinely help their constituents: http://t.co/xd9Ip1ru

Zuckerberg didn't care.

slate.com — Facebook has reminded investors of a simple lesson: Avoid companies whose bosses don't care about you. From the get-go, Mark Zuckerberg, the social network's not very sociable founder, made clear he had little interest in welcoming public shareholders.
Jay Rosen Co-Founder, Citizens Agenda, GuardianNews.com, Guardian @jayrosen_nyu
I love this story. Not in the sense that I love that it happened. I do not. But it's just so... interesting. http://t.co/twBVMUM8 Ya know?

Should Politicians Ever Wear Jeans?

slate.com — Should Politicians Ever Wear Jeans?
Sonia Smith Associate Editor, Texas Monthly @sonia_smith
“the worst pair of jeans that has ever been seen on a man’s leg in America." http://t.co/dudY1R79

Artur Davis: I Admire David Brooks, Ross Douthat

slate.com — The biggest failures, he said, have been the Democrats' inability to think about the natural role of government or the best ways to make America competitive. "When I got into politics," he said, "I thought, quite frankly, like a lot of other people in my community, that government passed a program and things got better.
Dave Weigel Political Reporter, Slate @daveweigel
Artur Davis praises Ross Douthat, criticizes Obama administration over AZ immigration lawsuit. http://t.co/PkgVAwut

Risk intelligence: how gamblers and weather forecasters assess probabilities.

slate.com — Humans are useless at assessing probabilities. But against the odds, Dylan Evans has tracked down the handful of people who rate as geniuses on the intelligence scale he calls risk quotient. Alison George asked him what they can teach us-and if we can boost our own scores Most people probably...
Dan Nguyen Web Journalist, ProPublica @dancow
Wow, this @slate Q&A on risk assessment wins for biggest non sequitur; read the last Q http://t.co/hpK2JaZZ

Pick up just about any novel and you'll find the phrase "somewhere a dog barked."

slate.com — As a reader of novels and not much else, I keep a running list of authorial whims. Male writers of the Roth/Updike generation, for example, love the word cunt. Also, where novelists once adorned their prose with offhand French bon mots, Spanish now appears. Here's another: Novelists can't resist including a dog...
Sinead Gleeson Freelance Journalist @sineadgleeson
Ok, this writers-and-repetition thing is out of control. Every book contains "Somewhere a dog barked" (via @john_self) http://t.co/xuwYhkx4

Hey, Everybody, Obama's Bragging About bin Laden Again!

slate.com — The Obama campaign's two-minute look back at the bin Laden raid was just that -- a mini-documentary, intended for the wags. But this new 30-second ad is intended for a general audience, and for TV. In it, Obama goes for another bin Laden raid three-pointer right in the middle of a discussion of veterans.
David Graham Associate Editor, Politics Channel, The Atlantic @GrahamDavidA
Who? RT @Slate: Hey, everybody, Obama's bragging about bin Laden again! VIDEO: http://t.co/l5H9zLno #ItMustBeWednesday

The "fiscal cliff" and the soft bigotry of low expectations.

slate.com — Given that the United States government has a special agency-the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee-tasked with stabilizing aggregate demand, you might think that press coverage would focus on the question of what the Fed is planning to do to offset this demand shock. Instead, however, the coverage is myopically focused on the question of what-if anything-the U.S.
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
The "fiscal cliff" exists because the Federal Reserve is refusing to do its job: http://t.co/bj8VzN9u

The personhood debate and the science of fertility and IVF.

slate.com — During our Two Week Waits, my husband and I often take walks to the river near our house. Among couples trying to conceive (or TTC, as it's known among people who have been trying for a while), the Two Week Wait is the wait between ovulation and a positive or...
Jamie Komarnicki Reporter, Calgary Herald @journojamie
A great first person account - Visible Life: IVF, personhood, and the Two-Week Wait. http://t.co/KhwcifhP via @slate

LGBT advocates for first time are winning battle of those with "strong" feelings.

slatest.slate.com — The Washington Post and ABC News offer the latest look into Americans' attitude on same-sex marriage: The big takeaway from their new poll is that more than half say same-sex should be legal, and that for the first time ever gay marriage advocates are winning the battle among those who...
Keith Olbermann Chief News Officer, Current TV @KeithOlbermann
RT @Slate: Opposition to gay marriage reaches record low--POLL: http://t.co/Jn3zLKIF

Mark Zuckerberg Made Out Nicely In The Facebook IPO

slate.com — Felix Salmon has an excellent rundown of the individuals whose actions led to Facebook's post-IPO share bust, but I think it's strange of him to list Mark Zuckerberg as incompetent for his role in this. It seems to me that Zuckerberg is getting exactly what he wants-money and freedom.
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
People who bought Facebook at the IPO are suckers, but that doesn't make Zuckerberg incompetent. He's winning: http://t.co/PGSy7NEa

JPMorgan scandal: What we can learn about it from John Pierpont Morgan’s fight with Congress 100 years ago.

slate.com — A hundred years ago, the most famous banker in America testified before Congress in one of his last public appearances. His name (hint: you've seen it in recent headlines) was John Pierpont Morgan, the redoubtable founding father of today's JPMorgan Chase. At the time, Morgan was without peer in American...
John Swansburg Culture Editor, Slate @swansburg
100 years ago J. P. Morgan was called before a Congress suspicious of his bank’s power and influence. (Sound familiar?) http://t.co/fupZLGfR

Does gay marriage affect marriage or divorce rates?

slate.com — A conservative's fear about gay marriage is that it will destroy the institution of marriage. Generally this fear revolves around apocalyptic visions of what happened in Sodom or just a general sense that a formula that has existed for centuries should not be tampered with. As James Dobson of Focus...
Jahnabi Barooah Assistant Religion Editor, Huffington Post @jbarooah
RT @Slate: Has gay marriage "destroyed traditional marriage" in the states that have adopted it? The data says NO: http://t.co/yDLbKBmn

Watch Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan bring the classic Fitzgerald novel to life. (VIDEO)

slate.com — In The Great Gatsby trailer I count two lines straight from the book: "You always look so cool," Daisy says to Gatsby, and later her husband (the perfectly cast Joel Edgerton) asks him, "What kind of a row are you trying to cause in my house?"
Addie Broyles Food Writer, Austin American-Statesman @broylesa
An early Christmas present: Trailer for Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby," which doesn't come out until Dec.: http://t.co/rTM8ZfMd

Samsung, Sony Enforce Minimum TV Pric

slatest.slate.com — It might be too late to buy that deep-discounted new flat-screen television you've had your eye on. Samsung and Sony, two of the world's largest TV makers, are asking U.S. retailers to curb their discounts in an effort to protect their profit margins. The Wall Street Journal reports that the...
Robert Evatt Business Reporter, Tulsa World @RobertEvatt
No more cheap TVs? Sony, Samsung to start enforcing minimum prices for them: http://t.co/dn9V0cg3

Obama campaign ads: How the Analyst Institute is helping him hone his message.

slate.com — Two weeks ago, top Obama campaign advisers Jim Messina and David Axelrod announced a $25 million national television buy, a figure rightfully acknowledged with a sense of wonder, given that there were still six months to go before Election Day. But anyone waiting for coast-to-coast shock-and awe must be disappointed....
Rachel Weiner Blogger, The Fix, Washington Post @FixRachel
Why Obama's ads are all over the place: Experimental message testing http://t.co/3K8E79KZ #campaignreads
Jonathan Martin Senior Political Writer, Politico @jmartpolitico
RT @TheFix: This article on Obama's ads is why you should be following @sissenberg. http://t.co/eZK2Xly6
David M. Drucker Associate Politics Editor, Roll Call @DavidMDrucker
Read this MT @sissenberg:How does Obama camp know which messages actually move voters? http://t.co/usJW0bvn
Chris Cillizza White House Correspondent and Blogger, Washington Post @TheFix
This article on Obama's ads is why you should be following @sissenberg. http://t.co/7nEJO2LW
John Swansburg Culture Editor, Slate @swansburg
Obama is testing which campaign ads actually work, and with which voters. How empiricism could win him the election: http://t.co/289trgPP
Show 2 more tweets from Josh Kraushaar, Zeke Miller

What we can learn from Romney's favorite book.

slate.com — If you plan to run for president, you have to get your reading list straight. Inevitably a reporter will ask you to name your favorite book or a book you're currently reading, hoping to uncover a truth about your inner self. Candidates quickly learn to name either biographies of heroic...
Jonathan Stray Interactive Technology Reporter, Associated Press @jonathanstray
Battlefield Earth is Mitt Romney's favorite novel. http://t.co/DrxIvAoC Presented without comment. Thanks @dansinker!

Obama campaign ads: How the Analyst Institute is helping him hone his message.

slate.com — Two weeks ago, top Obama campaign advisers Jim Messina and David Axelrod announced a $25 million national television buy, a figure rightfully acknowledged with a sense of wonder, given that there were still six months to go before Election Day. But anyone waiting for coast-to-coast shock-and awe must be disappointed....
Chuck Todd Political Director and Chief White House Correspondent, NBC News @chucktodd
Interesting read about how Obama campaign is apparently doing ad testing in a different way than has been the norm. http://t.co/6w7wUlwE
Dan Hirschhorn National Political Correspondent, The Daily @DanTheDaily
Great reads all over today http://t.co/PsIq62qY http://t.co/q8kc9d1G http://t.co/WAAMyfvo via @sissenberg @samsteinhp & @MikeDorning
Susan Page Washington Bureau Chief, USA Today @SusanPage
It's a new world, politics div.: Fascinating deep dive by @sissenberg into micro-targeting tests by Obama campaign: http://t.co/Wh38HAHG
Paul Blumenthal Fundrace Editor, Huffington Post @PaulBlu
Must read piece on Obama campaign's use of experimental voter targeting for TV ad messages: http://t.co/JzuOAx41
Michael Scherer White House Correspondent, Time Magazine @michaelscherer
Read: http://t.co/H5F3xqfC
Show 1 more tweet from Jonathan Martin

Hawaii Officials Straight up Messing With Birther-ish Arizona Secretary of State

slate.com — The Hawaii office asks for proof of legal authority for the request, and whether Bennett plans to further verify the birthplaces of all the candidates who will be on the ballot. Other emails obtained show Bennett answering birther constituents who question his commitment to questioning the president's eligibility.
Nick Martin Reporter, Talking Points Memo @nickmartin
Worth watching: @SlateViral's amusing video take on how Hawaii turned the tables on Arizona's birther probe: http://t.co/WfwGratJ

College Students Don't Study Enough-But Not Because They're Lazy

slate.com — My banal view is that you have to work on all angles of this concurrently. Nobody knows what a "communications" major is exactly, it doesn't seem like you need to work very hard to get one, and not coincidentally they seem to learn much less than students pursuing degrees in traditional humanities, social sciences, math, physical sciences or engineering programs. So we can work on the rigor of our offerings.
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
Rising tuition and declining studiousness at American colleges: http://t.co/iUnAShGM

The Glass Half Full Theory of a Grexit

slate.com — I've emphasized the idea that the continent-wide fallout from Greece leaving the eurozone would get pretty severe, because remaining countries would need to worry not only about direct bank losses but also the spread of fear-based contagion.
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
Jacob Funk Kierkegaard says Greece leaving will make the eurozone stronger. Too #slatepitch-y for me: http://t.co/9A6GHkWt

The Top 65 Cities Larger Than Newark Whose Mayors Haven't Weighed-in On Private Equity

slate.com — New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has certainly weighed-in on the Obama administration's approach to the financial sector in the past, and recently Newark Mayor Cory Booker's remarks on private equity have dominated the news. It turns out, however, that any number of other American municipalities are larger than Newark.
Kayla Webley Writer-Reporter, Time Magazine @kaylawebley
RT @Slate: The top 65 cities larger than Newark whose mayors haven't weighed in on private equity: http://t.co/HwYboSG0
Roben Farzad Senior Writer, Bloomberg BusinessWeek @robenfarzad
RT @Slate: The top 65 cities larger than Newark whose mayors haven't weighed in on private equity: http://t.co/HwYboSG0
Meredith Shiner Congress Reporter, Roll Call @meredithshiner
RT @Slate The top 65 cities larger than Newark whose mayors haven't weighed in on private equity: http://t.co/l1c6QYI8
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
The top 65 cities larger than Newark whose mayors haven't yet weighed-in on the private equity debate: http://t.co/bucYjf1v

Why young white women risk cancer to be tan.

slate.com — Meanwhile, rates of melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, have been increasing more quickly among young white women than their white male counterparts, which, in the words of the report, "might be attributable, in part, to their increased rates of indoor tanning."
Ryan Teague Beckwith Features Editor, Roll Call @ryanbeckwith
The FDA considers tanning beds roughly as dangerous as tongue depressors and Band-Aids. http://t.co/lzLJE3e6
Katie Sanders Reporter, PolitiFact.com and Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Bay Times @KatieLSanders
RT @Slate: Study: Young white women are risking cancer just to be tan at far higher rates than young white men. http://t.co/EFBpmUgI
Carrie Ritchie Courts Reporter, Indianapolis Star @CarrieRitchie
Not me! I'm pale MT @Slate Study: Young white women risking cancer to be tan at far higher rates than young white men. http://t.co/7ebpuEJ3

Formula one drives hard bargain with Singapore.

slate.com — Formula One's owners are driving a hard bargain. Securing $1.6 billion from pre-IPO investors is a big boost as majority owner CVC readies Bernie Ecclestone's motor-racing circus for a Singapore flotation. The private equity firm will argue that F1's juicy contracts, minimal costs, and strong brand merit the pricey enterprise value of more than $9 billion.
Quentin Webb Breakingviews Columnist, Reuters @qtwebb
Formula One Drives Hard Bargain http://t.co/KekOOw1n My @Breakingviews column from yesterday, via @slate #PrivateEquity #IPO #F1

Navy biofuel program: Why the House Armed Services Committee was shortsighted to ban it.

slate.com — Killing a $12 million military program may seem like a paltry matter. The sum amounts to a mere 0.002 percent of the total defense budget. But the elimination of one such program this week by the House Armed Services Committee reveals-more brazenly than many larger tamperings-just how shortsighted, hypocritical, and...
Ann Dwyer Assistant Managing Editor, Crain's Chicago Business @AnnDwyer_Crains
Fuel for thought: Is Congress jeopardizing the future of energy? http://t.co/wCGQx70U via @slate #green

John Wolfe, the Man Who Would Beat Obama: The Arkansas/Kentucky Primary Thread

slate.com — "The amount of money the president gets from Wall Street is just huge, and disturbingly so," he says. "He'll give a speech in Washington and attack greed, then he'll ride Air Force One up to New York to raise $5 million from bankers." The president had fumbled Wall Street reform and fumbled health care.
Michael Cass Government Reporter, Tennessean @tnmetro
RT @daveweigel: John Wolfe, the sane fringe candidate who's giving Obama a race in #ARprimary http://t.co/6SySeVZ9
Josh Kraushaar Executive Editor, Hotline, National Journal @HotlineJosh
RT @daveweigel: John Wolfe, the sane fringe candidate who's giving Obama a race in #ARprimary http://t.co/knvn3HVa
Dave Weigel Political Reporter, Slate @daveweigel
John Wolfe, the sane fringe candidate who's giving Obama a race in #ARprimary http://t.co/9fIOi5r5

Bully documentary: A legal victory for the school officials demonized by the film.

slate.com — If you've seen the documentary Bully, you were likely affected by its portrayal of Tyler Long, a 17-year-old from Murray County, Ga., who committed suicide. The movie includes long sequences depicting Tyler growing up and his family's grief after his death, as well as footage from a town hall meeting...
Felix Salmon Finance Blogger, Reuters @felixsalmon
A major legal victory for school officials demonized by the "Bully" documentary: http://t.co/a7NEnkwp
Dave Weigel Political Reporter, Slate @daveweigel
RT @Slate: Judge throws out lawsuit at the center of documentary "Bully," further discrediting film: http://t.co/ws5lMNMc
John Swansburg Culture Editor, Slate @swansburg
A judge grants a major victory to the school officials demonized in the Bully documentary: http://t.co/SynNku2G

The Myth of the Positive 2008 Obama Campaign

slate.com — Inspired by Bookergate and its aftermaths, Molly Ball writes at length about the new tone of the Obama campaign. It "has taken," she claims, "a brutal, no-holds-barred approach that's sharply at odds with the conciliatory image that was the central predicate of Obama's entire pre-presidential political career."
Maggie Haberman Senior Political Writer, Politico @maggiepolitico
Smart @daveweigel http://t.co/YqzYiuWV
Mark Leibovich Reporter, New York Times @MarkLeibovich
The Myth of the Positive 2008 Obama Campaign http://t.co/qng3SFMl via @daveweigel
Salena Zito Political Reporter, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review @SalenaZitoTrib
This > Mark Leibovich@MarkLeibovich The Myth of the Positive 2008 Obama Campaign http://t.co/CBOz8viO Well done > @daveweigel

The Myth of the Positive 2008 Obama Campaign

slate.com — Inspired by Bookergate and its aftermaths, Molly Ball writes at length about the new tone of the Obama campaign. It "has taken," she claims, "a brutal, no-holds-barred approach that's sharply at odds with the conciliatory image that was the central predicate of Obama's entire pre-presidential political career."
Erica Grieder Southwest Correspondent, The Economist @EricaGrieder
I agree with @daveweigel here: http://t.co/NITfZGF2 . In 2008 I was annoyed about Obama's fear-mongering streak: http://t.co/o7BMZ9qY
Ben Smith Editor-in-Chief, BuzzFeed @BuzzFeedBen
RT @daveweigel: The undying myth of the "positive," not-petty 2008 Obama campaign. http://t.co/BXVzbomu @buzzfeedben @mollyesque
Dave Weigel Political Reporter, Slate @daveweigel
The undying myth of the "positive," not-petty 2008 Obama campaign. http://t.co/BXVzbomu @buzzfeedben @mollyesque

Future Tense event on U.S. science and technology research.

slate.com — For more than 50 years, America's R&D system has remained fundamentally unchanged, according to the researchers, policymakers, and journalists who spoke at Monday's Future Tense event, "How To Save America's Knowledge Enterprise ... From Tight Budgets, Primitive Myths, and the Shadow of Albert Einstein."
Deborah Blum Freelance Journalist @deborahblum
An @Slate piece on conference w/ @revkin @sherifink (me) on if/how America's R&D system is fixable http://t.co/Diavg9Ao @futuretensenowa
Andrew C. Revkin Dot Earth Blogger, New York Times @Revkin
Via @futuretensenow, @deborahblum @michaelcrow et al discuss if/how we can save America's R&D system http://t.co/vBb7uuNl

Majority-minority America: Will more Hispanics and Asians become “White”?

slate.com — It's rare that a Census Bureau press release dominates the front pages, but last week's headline "Most Children Younger Than 1 Are Minorities, Census Reports" was the thrilling exception. The shortage of white Anglo babies, the press was eager to tell us, was a glimpse of things to come, of...
John Carney Senior Editor, CNBC @carney
The natural follow to this is to ask whether @mattyglesias claimed to be hispanic/latino on his college applications. http://t.co/MxOtftU6
Robin Lloyd News Editor, Scientific American Online, Scientific American @robinlloyd99
RT @MyHarmReduction: "by definition—whiteness is the racial definition of the sociocultural majority" excerpt from http://t.co/psYMlNxo
Joey Kennedy Columnist, The Birmingham News @joeykennedy
RT @Slate: How they decide who is white and who is Hispanic in the census: http://t.co/qu4JAvAc
John Michael McGrath Toronto News Curator and Reporter, OpenFile @jm_mcgrath
"...she did have, admittedly, a memorable “ethnic” turn as a Bajoran..." http://t.co/oR7BB2mv (cc @zackgpeters)

George Zimmerman’s defense is being assisted by conservative groups.

slate.com — At the start of May, right after Elizabeth Warren's first, toothache-inducing explanations for why Harvard had called her a "minority" hire, I started seeing a two-panel photo-editorial pop up on Facebook. On the left: An image of George Zimmerman's first mug shot, the one taken in 2005 after an accidental...
Arian Campo-Flores Reporter, Wall Street Journal @acampoflores
Interesting read. RT @Slate: How conservative groups are coming to George Zimmerman's legal aid: http://t.co/yBHU5SFv #Trayvon
Josh Kraushaar Executive Editor, Hotline, National Journal @HotlineJosh
RT @daveweigel: New @Slate: How new evidence is helping George Zimmerman's case and reputation http://t.co/MPCwPaFf
Dave Weigel Political Reporter, Slate @daveweigel
New @Slate: How new evidence is helping George Zimmerman's case and reputation http://t.co/a7Eb0XnX

It was invented in 1899. It hasn’t been improved upon since.

slate.com — The paper clip is something of a fetish object in design circles. Its spare, machined aesthetic and its inexpensive ubiquity landed it a spot in MoMA's 2004 show Humble Masterpieces. This was a pedestal too high for design critic Michael Bierut, who responded with an essay called "To Hell with...
Anjali Mullany Social Media Editor, Fast Company @anjalimullany
RT @FastCompany: Two odes to the paperclip, a design gem: http://t.co/BFOCUl7H via @FastCoDesign & http://t.co/MhbMA6nP via @Slate
Kate Sheppard Staff Reporter, Mother Jones @kate_sheppard
RT @swin24: ALL HAIL THE PAPER CLIP http://t.co/hYba7abE

In Which A White AFL-CIO State President Smashes a Nikki Haley Pinata

slate.com — Is there no Yahoo! Answers page for minor political figures? Was there no one at AFL-CIO South Carolina President Donna Dewitt's retirement party who said either... 1) "Maybe you shouldn't pummel a pinata with Nikki Haley's face on it." 2) "If you pummel it, maybe we should not record it and upload it to YouTube."
Esther J. Cepada Freelance Columnist, Washington Post @estherjcepeda
So much for civility #GabrielleGiffords MT @Slate: Watch AFL-CIO State President smash Nikki Haley pinata: http://t.co/mBpr5A99 #badideas

Majority-minority America: Will more Hispanics and Asians become “White”?

slate.com — It's rare that a Census Bureau press release dominates the front pages, but last week's headline "Most Children Younger Than 1 Are Minorities, Census Reports" was the thrilling exception. The shortage of white Anglo babies, the press was eager to tell us, was a glimpse of things to come, of...
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
A large share of this new crop of minority babies are going to grow up to be white: http://t.co/HVSknuxg
Jack Shafer Columnist, Slate @jackshafer
MT @WillOremus: "A lot of these 'minority' babies are going to be white when they grow up." http://t.co/ZGmDhRPf

Coming Soon Courtesy of Oklahoma State University

slate.com — Recipes and fashion design don't have copyright or patent protection, and yet innovation in those spaces seems to continue apace. But patent law is metastasizing so quickly in the software space that it was only a matter of time before it spread to something like Oklahoma State University's effort to patent a steak.
Goldie Blumenstyk Senior Writer, The Chronicle of Higher Education @GoldieStandard
A #patent for a steak? Not for a new breed of cow, but for a method of cutting the meat? .#Highered #techtransfer http://t.co/uekHalTB
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
Oklahoma State University has filed for a patent on a steak: http://t.co/Akfkzsvs

Psychiatrist Robert Spitzer apologizes for promoting the gay cure.

slate.com — Last night I had a nightmare about the prominent psychiatrist, Dr. Robert Spitzer, whom I have never met: He was faceless and casting a fake Latin spell in the darkened corridors of a Harry Potter-like school. Before falling asleep, I had been reading about his dramatic late life apology for...
Joey Kennedy Columnist, The Birmingham News @joeykennedy
RT @Slate: "It is a great injustice to persecute homosexuality... and a cruelty, too."-Sigmund Freud http://t.co/l2IaJxac #QuoteOfTheDay

Congress talks like 10th-graders? No, the Flesch-Kincaid test doesn't really tell us that.

slate.com — Or, rather, you didn't say that, because you don't talk like a 10th-grader, and neither do members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. The"analysis" cited in the NPR headline proves no such thing.
Farhad Manjoo Slate Technology Columnist and PandoDaily Contributor, Slate @fmanjoo
No, Members of Congress Don't "Talk Like 10th Graders" http://t.co/iIytZvpa
Dave Weigel Political Reporter, Slate @daveweigel
Great David Haglund smackdown of the smug NPR "Tea Party congressmen talk at lower grade levels" story. http://t.co/u3BKwMBU

Digital Manners: Middle school teacher Tweets with her students and broadcasts wild nights on the town.

slate.com — This week, Slate's tech columnist Farhad Manjoo and Dear Prudence advice columnist Emily Yoffe debate the question: Should you tell your sister-in-law, a middle school teacher, that her tweeting is inappropriate? Subscribe in iTunes ∙ RSS feed ∙ Download ∙ Play in another tab What's your opinion about this week's...
Joey Kennedy Columnist, The Birmingham News @joeykennedy
RT @Slate: Should schools impose limits on what and with whom teachers can Tweet? POLL: http://t.co/UgF177mN

Obama campaign ads: How the Analyst Institute is helping him hone his message.

slate.com — Two weeks ago, top Obama campaign advisers Jim Messina and David Axelrod announced a $25 million national television buy, a figure rightfully acknowledged with a sense of wonder, given that there were still six months to go before Election Day. But anyone waiting for coast-to-coast shock-and awe must be disappointed....
Charles Dharapak Photojournalist, Associated Press @CharlesDharapak
Obama campaign ads: from spring experimentation to summer analysis to fall hypotheses by @sissenberg http://t.co/9WoVo1Gu via @slate

Dumbing Down of Congress? :Sunlight foundation study finds that Congress speaks at a 10th grade level.

slatest.slate.com — A new study suggests that Congress's level of discourse has dropped roughly one grade level since 1995, a finding that has prompted many to draw obvious parallels between what's perceived to be the legislature's increasingly partisan polarization and a playground fight. But don't expect to hear House Speaker John Boehner...
Nancy Schoeffler Deputy Metro Editor, Hartford Courant @nschoeffler
Congressional speech level: sophomoric. New study finds it dropped a grade level since '95. http://t.co/tr3EruX1 #dumbingdown

Tom Coburn: "We're Gonna Lose This Currency"

slate.com — "We're gonna lose this currency, the way we're running," explained Coburn, referring to the Fed's inflationary money strategy of the past two years. "The greatest problem with what the Federal Reserve is doing is the financial repression that will come about, because it's going to be impossible for them to sterilize this money supply.
Dave Weigel Political Reporter, Slate @daveweigel
Tom Coburn definitively joins the anti-Fed brigades http://t.co/UYBzBoVA

Mad Men: Don and Joan's flirtation explained.

slate.com — I can't exactly defend Mother Lakshmi's stratagem, Julia, but we can probably agree that this is a woman whose judgment is not state-of-the-art. There's the fact that she's with Kinsey in the first place to consider, as well as Kinsey's curious, period-appropriate suggestion that back when her name was Janet,...
Mark Shanahan Names Columnist, Boston Globe @MarkAShanahan
RT @Slate: Don and Joan's flirtation explained: http://t.co/YD5KBMBV #MadMen

Why stay-at-home mothers are more depressed than working moms.

slate.com — In the latest unfortunate news at the intersection of motherhood and politics, stay-at-home moms are doing worse emotionally than their working counterparts. According to a Gallup poll released last week, mothers who don't work outside the home were far more likely to be depressed, with 28 percent reporting depression, compared...
Peter Weber Senior Editor, TheWeek.com, The Week Magazine @PJWeber
Overthinking why stay-at-home moms are more depressed? http://t.co/pekrRC14 My guess: Isolation mixed with really hard work.
Megan McArdle Blogger, The Atlantic @asymmetricinfo
Amazing how many this story's been discussed without use of the words "selection bias" or "unobserved variable bias" http://t.co/ulsQ72TS

Robert Spitzer’s apology for his reparative therapy study: Can gays become straight?

slate.com — Can therapy turn gay people straight? Eleven years ago, Robert Spitzer said it could. Spitzer is the professor of psychiatry who led the fight in the 1970s to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder. But in 2001, he released a study-published two years later in Archives of Sexual Behavior-purporting to...
Jahnabi Barooah Assistant Religion Editor, Huffington Post @jbarooah
+1 RT @Slate: Can therapy turn gay people straight? The study that "proved" this theory has been renounced by author: http://t.co/BEo8yiqh

It was invented in 1899. It hasn’t been improved upon since.

slate.com — The paper clip is something of a fetish object in design circles. Its spare, machined aesthetic and its inexpensive ubiquity landed it a spot in MoMA's 2004 show Humble Masterpieces. This was a pedestal too high for design critic Michael Bierut, who responded with an essay called "To Hell with...
Maggie Gordon Staff Writer, Stamford Advocate @MagEGordon
A Neat Story: The Perfection of the Paper Clip http://t.co/i6FxmUAs via @slate

Why Two Percent Inflation Targeting Is The New Gold Standard

slate.com — One of the curious elements of the politics of monetary policy is that even though monetary stimulus often seems very politically fraught and people at times profess to believe that it's impossible, everyone seems to agree that exchange rate policy works.
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
Two percent inflation targeting is the new gold standard: http://t.co/OLf7KfO0

Dumbing Down of Congress? :Sunlight foundation study finds that Congress speaks at a 10th grade level.

slatest.slate.com — A new study suggests that Congress's level of discourse has dropped roughly one grade level since 1995, a finding that has prompted many to draw obvious parallels between what's perceived to be the legislature's increasingly partisan polarization and a playground fight. But don't expect to hear House Speaker John Boehner...
Alex Goldmark Contributing Editor, GOOD @alexgoldmark
New research suggests lawmakers now speak like high school sophomores while on the #House & #Senate floors http://t.co/AQVnFvWT

North Carolina Saves Jobs By Maintaining Inefficient Hassles

slate.com — That's a classic one for the dubious pro-business policy initiatives files. By the same token, if North Carolina were to require sofas to get annual sofa safety inspections from authorized sofa safety inspectors that would create a thriving new small business segment. But would it be a good idea?
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
Inefficiency as a job-creation strategy: http://t.co/0m7im9Tr

The L.A. Complex on the CW: A great TV show nobody’s watching.

slate.com — The L.A. Complex, which you should watch before the end of its tragically short run on the CW (Tuesdays at 9 ET), is a quirky Canadian spin on a standard Hollywood story: ambitious new arrivals on their way up cross paths with once-hot starlets on their way down. The usual...
June Thomas Foreign Editor, Slate @junethomas
My love letter to #TheLAComplex, a sexy drama about Canadians making it in Hollywood: http://t.co/iPInkk49

Congress talks like 10th-graders? No, the Flesch-Kincaid test doesn't really tell us that.

mobile.slate.com — Yesterday, NPR's Morning Edition included a story which, online at least, ran under the headline, "Sophomoric? Members of Congress Talk Like 10th-Graders, Analysis Shows." "OMG," you probably said to yourself on seeing that headline, "they totes do that, because Congress is, like, such an idiot." Or, rather, you didn't say that, because...
Ramesh Ponnuru Columnist and National Review Senior Editor, Bloomberg News @RameshPonnuru
RT @joshgreenman: This man smart. This NPR report stupid. http://t.co/EJZRYDqy

Pre-teen runway models: Tracking the trend.

slate.com — In recent years, the debate over underage fashion models has reached a fever pitch. Ondria Hardin starred in a sultry Prada ad at 13. An Australian modeling agency recently announced that it wanted 13-year-olds because 16-year-olds were "too old." And a good number of preadolescents are establishing their modeling bona...
Bruce Arthur Sports Columnist, National Post @bruce_arthur
Ugh. RT @Slate: Quote from a teenage fashion shoot: 'Listen, I know you're a virgin, but could you just pretend?' http://t.co/lrpPLbSa

Scott Walker: Voter Fraud is Worth "One or Two Points" in Wisconsin

slate.com — There might be some question. The voter fraud issue was investigated in Wisconsin fairly recently, in the form of an Election Fraud Task Force and a deep dive into 2008's vote results. The yearlong investigation charged 20 people -- this in an election with around 3 million ballots.
Ari Berman Political Correspondent, The Nation @AriBerman
Scott Walker claims voter fraud = 'one or two points' in WI. Actually, it's more like .0007 % http://t.co/Mv8hZgfC @daveweigel @edshow

San Antonio Spurs 2012: Hang Up and Listen on Tim Duncan, the NHL’s southern strategy, and women who love sports.

slate.com — Listen to "Hang Up and Listen" with Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca by clicking the arrow on the audio player below: Subscribe in iTunes ∙ RSS feed ∙ Download ∙ Play in another tab Become a fan of Hang Up and Listen on Facebook here: This episode of Hang Up and Listen is brought...
Meredith Shiner Congress Reporter, Roll Call @meredithshiner
Yes. RT @Slate: Do men find female superfans repellent? Fascinating discussion: http://t.co/r5KjvO14 #sports

Tower Climbers: The Unsung Heroes Who Gave Their Lives for the iPhone Revolution

slate.com — We think of the smartphone revolution as primarily powered by geeks in silicon valley and Chinese parts assemblers, but all these ecosystems are built on a physical made-in-America backbone of utility tower that keep the whole thing running.
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
The real deadliest catch was building out AT&T network capacity to meet the demand surge induced by the iPhone: http://t.co/JONF6fcB

Best Buy Earnings Still Falling

slate.com — CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 16: A person walks up to a shuttered Best Buy Store on April 16, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images Best Buy's shares got a bounce this morning because profits came in "above expectations" but the numbers they released today still show falling earnings and reduced same-store sales even as the number of stores outstanding continues to fall.
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
Best Buy earnings "beat expectations" but profits are still falling: http://t.co/33wyWgH5 #endofretail

Bill O'Reilly Unsure Why People With Less Money Don't Give As Much to Charity

slate.com — Media Matters collates some Fox News hardy-har-hars about Vice President Biden's big "middle class speech." It was a fine, if rambling speech, and none if it was ripped from Neil Kinnock's Greatest Hits Volume II. But it started with the assumption that rising inequality was suboptimal, and this, it represented class warfare.
Dave Weigel Political Reporter, Slate @daveweigel
O'Reilly mocks Biden for not giving as much to charity as he does. O'Reilly makes 43x as much as Biden. http://t.co/rklIgnhE

Business Doesn't Want Well-Regulated Banks

slate.com — The basic point is that you might think that America's roster of non-financial business executives would be a powerful lobby for sound financial regulation. After all, the financial panic of 2007-2008 was ruinous to share prices across the board.
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
Tom Donohue shows why America's not going to have a well-regulated financial system any time soon: http://t.co/SRMTQ9yc

Fitch's Foolish Japan Downgrade

slate.com — You sometimes really have to wonder what's going through the heads of the people who do the analysis on large developed sovereigns for the ratings agencies. Today, for example, Fitch unleashed a downgrade on Japan which is hardly the first time Japan's gotten dinged by a ratings agency and lived to tell the tale with interest rates lower than ever.
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
Fitch's foolish Japan downgrade: http://t.co/TlhzwNoU

Maybe Rich People Don't Like Obama Because He Wants To Raise Their Taxes Substantially

slate.com — Every once in a while I read a new round of speculation about the psychological underpinnings of rich finance types' strong turn against Barack Obama. Many of these articles include some insight, but I think they tend to dance too quickly past the baseline hypothesis that people don't like to pay higher taxes and thus these people don't like Obama because he's asking them to pay substantially higher taxes.
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
The simple theory as to why rich people don't like Obama -- it's the taxes, stupid: http://t.co/3sU37ybj

Could Parallel Currencies Save The Eurozone

slate.com — The logistics of this get a bit complicated. Spain owes debts denominated in euros and so does the Spanish private sector. So the Spanish state would need to continue demanding that a share of taxes be paid in euros (in order to finance Spanish debt) but could allow taxes to be partially paid in pesetas and could also partially convert expenditures to pesetas.
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
Could parallel currencies save the eurozone: http://t.co/aJUcIrhO

Dharun Ravi received a light sentence for spying on Tyler Clementi.

slate.com — Judge Glenn Berman was about as merciful as he could have been today in sentencing Dharun Ravi, the 20-year-old former Rutgers student convicted of spying on his roommate, Tyler Clementi, with a webcam a few days before Clementi committed suicide in September 2010. The judge sentenced Ravi to 30 days...
Dafna Linzer Senior Reporter, ProPublica @DafnaLinzer
RT @ggreenwald Hard to swallow emotionally, but @EmilyBazelon persuasively argues the 30-day Ravi sentence is just http://t.co/YO3O35BR
Glenn Greenwald Blogger, Salon @ggreenwald
It's a hard conclusion to swallow emotionally, but @EmilyBazelon persuasively argues the 30-day Ravi sentence is just http://t.co/5Jq6a9Dn
Emily Bazelon Senior Editor, Slate @emilybazelon
#dharunravi's sentence of 30 days jail time is merciful. And also, on balance, fair. http://t.co/EYly3dv9

Baby vegetables: a history of an ill-defined culinary category

slate.com — I had a friend in San Francisco who would get all bent out of shape over baby carrots. "They're not baby carrots," she'd say. "They're differently sized carrots." I looked more closely. She was right. What is a baby carrot? Is it a carrot's little offspring, or some kind of...
Jeff Kleinman Night News Editor, Miami Herald @jeffkleinman
Are Baby Vegetables Really Baby Vegetables? http://t.co/wRAGnhHj

Scott Walker: Voter Fraud is Worth "One or Two Points" in Wisconsin

slate.com — Wisconsin native Steve Hayes offers a long, empathetic take on Scott Walker's attempt to survive a recall election. The highlight: An interview with Walker, who apologizes for nothing (why should he?) and tries to get inside the heads of the liberals who hate him. Why are they so adamant about reversing a voter ID law?
Keith Olbermann Chief News Officer, Current TV @KeithOlbermann
RT @Slate: Scott Walker says election fraud makes up "one or two points." Reality says it's more like 0.0007 percent: http://t.co/cKDSTMvl
Andrew Kaczynski Politics Reporter, BuzzFeed @BuzzFeedAndrew
RT @daveweigel Scott Walker speculates voter fraud is worth "one or two points" in WI elections.Actually worth 0.0007%. http://t.co/BNfbY78O
Rachel Weiner Blogger, The Fix, Washington Post @FixRachel
RT @daveweigel: Scott Walker speculates voter fraud is worth "one or two points" in WI. Actually worth 0.0007%. http://t.co/OIqaerl1
Dave Weigel Political Reporter, Slate @daveweigel
Scott Walker speculates voter fraud is worth "one or two points" in WI elections. Actually worth 0.0007%. http://t.co/TgJt1m7J

With Walkback, Corey Booker Has It Right On Private Equity

slate.com — Normally politicians' walkbacks make for an incoherent muddle, but Booker's back-and-forth on this lands him in what I think is the complete correct position. The private equity industry is a perfectly legitimate line of work that, like most industries, consists of a mixture of socially beneficial work and not-so-beneficial exploitation of pernicious lacuna in the tax and regulatory system.
Nick Confessore Political Reporter, New York Times @nickconfessore
RT @cafreeland: RT @mattyglesias on the distinction between extracting value from enterprises and fixing them. http://t.co/f820AB1x
Chrystia Freeland Global Editor-at-Large, Reuters @cafreeland
RT @johndickerson: .@mattyglesias on the distinction between extracting value from enterprises and fixing them. http://t.co/dFSXZfex
David Waldman Contributing Editor, Daily Kos and Congress Matters @KagroX
If not liking how pvt equity works means yr complaint is w Congress, about what, exactly, do you complain to them? http://t.co/43ABGNec
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
Sorry, it's @CoryBooker who's got it right on private equity and the campaign: http://t.co/PQcshHsR

Taxes don?t kill entrepreneurship. Crazy licensing rules do. By Matthew Yglesias

hive.slate.com — Licensed To Decorate To hear politicians tell it, the No. 1 barrier to small-business growth is taxes. Last year, John Boehner rebutted Obama administration calls for a surtax on millionaires with the claim that "over half of the people who would be taxed under this plan are, in fact, small businesspeople," so "you're going to basically increase taxes on the very people that we're hoping will reinvest in our economy and create jobs."
Alex Pareene Writer, Salon @pareene
"Why New Yorkers have the best haircuts" RT @ezraklein "New York barbers need 884 days of education and apprenticeship" http://t.co/IQ6lPC5r
Ezra Klein Blogger and Columnist, Washington Post @ezraklein
"New York barbers need 884 days of education and apprenticeship. Across the river in New Jersey, it’s 280." http://t.co/WkhW8ETG
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
Taxes don't kill entrepreneurship, but the proliferation of random licensing rules does: http://t.co/Ifho4UR8

Poverty rates: Most U.S. counties see increasing poverty rates

slate.com — It's hardly news that the Great Recession pushed millions of Americans into poverty. In 2010, "poverty" meant having an income of less than $22,113 for a family of four; 15.1 percent of Americans were below that line. As this map shows, some areas of the country fared worse than others...
Jodie Jackson Jr. Reporter, Columbia Daily Tribune @JJacksonJr
A Map That Shows Poverty Is Getting Worse Almost Everywhere http://t.co/Ihb9U8iR via @slate

Cory Booker: Obama’s campaign ads “nauseating”? Wrong-attacking Bain Capital is fair game.

slate.com — Cory Booker is a famous man of action. The mayor of Newark shovels walkways in heavy snowstorms. Recently, he rushed into a burning building to save a woman. Sunday night he was at it again, this time working fast to remove his foot from his mouth. On Sunday morning's Meet the Press,...
Dave Weigel Political Reporter, Slate @daveweigel
RT @johndickerson: Me: Cory Booker's latest rescue mission. http://t.co/mdjixiBO

Matthew Hutson, Author of The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking, on Legacy

slate.com — Matthew Hutson's new book The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking discusses ways most people, even atheists, think "magically"--ranging from out-and-out superstition to subtler departures from rationalism. Hutson contends that caring about your legacy is an example of magical thinking, and here I challenge him on that point:
Kimberly Reeves Freelance Journalist @edwonkkimmy
RT @Slate: Is caring about your legacy completely irrational? Fascinating four-minute debate--WATCH: http://t.co/vzWKc8fX

Could a woman sing the same way?

mobile.slate.com — Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, a trio of brothers famous for their high-pitched singing on hits such as "Stayin' Alive" and "Night Fever," died Sunday at age 62. As falsetto singers, they're part of a male musical tradition that includes Franki Valli and the Four Seasons, Curtis Mayfield, and...
Patrick LaForge Editor of City Room, New York Times @palafo
Robin Gibb’s famous falsetto: Could a woman sing the same way? http://t.co/Bgnp8JMI

Poverty rates: Most U.S. counties see increasing poverty rates

slate.com — It's hardly news that the Great Recession pushed millions of Americans into poverty. In 2010, "poverty" meant having an income of less than $22,113 for a family of four; 15.1 percent of Americans were below that line. As this map shows, some areas of the country fared worse than others...
Sarah Carr Freelance Journalist @sarah_e_carr
RT @ulrichboser: A map of changes in poverty, county by county http://t.co/A3h4BSPy
Craig Pittman Environmental Reporter, Tampa Bay Times @craigtimes
Hey FL, we're poorer. (Just look at this map.) http://t.co/WwlQFaxk

Mad Men recap: Rich Sommer on Harry Crane's evolution.

slate.com — This is the thing about Harry: I don't actually think he's changed much. A lot of people talk about how different he's become over the five seasons, about how he's more of a jerk now than he used to be. Maybe I'm quibbling with semantics, but my take is that...
Jon Weisman Baseball Blogger, LA Times @dodgerthoughts
Thoughts on Harry Crane by the actor who plays him, @richsommer http://t.co/xYRg9pCq
John Swansburg Culture Editor, Slate @swansburg
Joining us this week in the Mad Men TV Club: Harry Crane! http://t.co/ZMP7pR9z

Dharun Ravi received a light sentence for spying on Tyler Clementi.

slate.com — Judge Glenn Berman was about as merciful as he could have been today in sentencing Dharun Ravi, the 20-year-old former Rutgers student convicted of spying on his roommate, Tyler Clementi, with a webcam a few days before Clementi committed suicide in September 2010. The judge sentenced Ravi to 30 days...
Daniel McHardie Reporter, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation @mchardie
A nicely argued article by @emilybazelon The Merciful End to the Trial of Dharun Ravi on Slate http://t.co/KRiLQAXo

Dharun Ravi received a light sentence for spying on Tyler Clementi.

slate.com — Judge Glenn Berman was about as merciful as he could have been today in sentencing Dharun Ravi, the 20-year-old former Rutgers student convicted of spying on his roommate, Tyler Clementi, with a webcam a few days before Clementi committed suicide in September 2010. The judge sentenced Ravi to 30 days...
Andrew Cohen Legal Editor, CBS News @CBSAndrew
Great take here by @emilybazelon @slate: Why No One Can Feel Good About the Trial of Dharun Ravi http://t.co/l9bbvTkO via @slate

Yankees cologne and L.L. Bean Signature: What these brand extensions have in common.

slate.com — Lately I've seen subway cars plastered with ads for New York Yankees-themed fragrances. According to the product website, the scent (soon to be available for online purchase) "epitomizes the winning style of the greatest team in baseball." The men's cologne boasts hints of "sparkling bergamot, coriander, and cool blue sage."...
Amos Zeeberg Online Managing Editor, Discover Magazine @settostun
Zing! RT @Slate: Do people who buy this "NY Yankees Eau de Toilette" want to smell like fourth place in the AL East? http://t.co/kWfESscl

Joaquin Phoenix is frightening as Freddie Quell, but who is Quell?

slate.com — But if Anderson is approaching the story as a bit of a film à clef,the real-life equivalent of Freddie Quell is not so obvious. Cieply writes that Phoenix's character "shares what Mr. Anderson's associates say are accidental similarities with the filmmaker's father, who died in 1997."
Jon Murray City Hall Reporter, Indianapolis Star @indyJonMurray
I love how weird it is. RT @slate: Not sure what to make intense trailer for P.T. Anderson's "The Master"--WATCH: http://t.co/oLp9oBR7

Yankees cologne and L.L. Bean Signature: What these brand extensions have in common.

slate.com — Lately I've seen subway cars plastered with ads for New York Yankees-themed fragrances. According to the product website, the scent (soon to be available for online purchase) "epitomizes the winning style of the greatest team in baseball." The men's cologne boasts hints of "sparkling bergamot, coriander, and cool blue sage."...
Christopher Rowland Washington Bureau Chief, Boston Globe @GlobeRowland
Why Would Anyone Buy Yankees-branded Cologne? http://t.co/0Gw12QhJ via @slate

Historic Preservation Rules Are Economic Policy

slate.com — What kinds of considerations should be in play when a new building goes up under circumstances that require historic review? That, I think, is the real issue posed by David Alpert's excellent overview of the controversy over a replacement structure for the Third Church of Christ, Scientist.
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
Historic preservation decisions are economic policy, and should be made with some economic issues in mind: http://t.co/UdHoNXmk

Facebook and Infideltiy

slate.com — Facebook didn't exist ten years ago, and it's very popular now. So for all forms of human interaction, including infidelity and divorce, there's been a huge increase in Facebook-related forms of interaction. But that'd be like saying shirts cause murder because almost all murderers wear shirts.
Matthew Yglesias Economics Blogger and Columnist, Slate @mattyglesias
Today's bogus trend story -- Facebook causing marriages to dissolve: http://t.co/iSgEtNgO