Read Fuzzy Math, by Paul Krugman.

Concise, biased, overview of the Bush tax cut before the cut, the war, the job losses etc. Excellent predictions, so far. Some small background information on taxation and expenditures.


Read The Price of Loyalty, by Ron Suskind.

Fascinating inside look at the workings of the Bush White House. Takes a positive view of O'Neill, who plays a minor baddie in the above mentioned Krugman book. You get the inside arguments about the tax cuts, which it turns out were very similar to the Fuzzy Math arguments, but still to no avail.

Bush administration ordered Medicare plan cost estimates withheld
By Tony Pugh

Knight Ridder Newspapers

"The government's top expert on Medicare costs was warned that he would be fired if he told key lawmakers about a series of Bush administration cost estimates that could have torpedoed congressional passage of the White House-backed Medicare prescription-drug plan."

Story

Juan Cole discusses a report in Reuters on the current state of American newspaper journalism.

The downside of news for profit, again, and a positive aspect of blogs (for now).

The Reuters story: http://tinyurl.com/2namp
The Juan Cole Informed Comment Archive Link: http://tinyurl.com/2gxwx

An Alternet piece examining a conundrum that should puzzle all:

"So where's the anger? Why isn't he pissed that he's not getting more bang for his taxpayer buck? And why in the world is he going to vote for a president based on a side issue like gay marriage?

I spent a week on the road trying to figure out why traditionally Democratic rural whites have so solidly embraced a Republican Party whose economic program runs directly counter to their own interests. "

Read the Story

A New York Times article on genetically modified crops:

"The acreage planted with genetically modified crops has exploded: a third of this country's corn by 2002 and three-quarters of its soybeans. Whatever you make of this trend, and there are strong arguments on both sides, one question it raises is whether genes from modified plants might somehow drift into unmodified ones. The answer is yes. "

Past articles of interest:

Jim Hightower at Alternet HIGHTOWER: USDA's Barren Seed

'Everything not permitted is forbidden', in which the doom of non-legally protected varietals is discussed. The protections placed for some plants and environments accidentally imperils others through legal incompetence.

Seedsaving and Seedsavers' Resources

A fellow worker entertained me by sharing some information gained via an e-mail, and I was reminded once again of the value of Snopes.com. Snopes, or the Urban Legends Reference Pages, debunks or confirms the many stories that circulate via e-mail, websites, the "news," and the water cooler. Most recently we had a discussion of "dead ringers." Please take advantage of this resource whenever you can, and let's all avoid repeating sordid stories and wild etymologies as facts without at least this much effort.