Chronicle of Higher Education: Why do people hate professors? They have a lot of reasons.

Tax Prof: The IRS has filed a $500,000 tax lien against Al Sharpton. He has not even filed his 2009 taxes.

AP: "A deeply unpopular Congress is bolting for the campaign trail without finishing its most basic job  -- approving a budget for the government year that begins on Friday. Lawmakers also are postponing a major fight over taxes, two embarrassing ethics cases and other political hot potatoes until angry and frustrated voters render their verdict in the Nov. 2 elections."

AP: Actor Tony Curtis is dead at 85.

Michael Barone: Dems have retreated to the coasts, and the GOP rules everything in between. Try his map exercise.

Get an outline map showing the 50 states and take a look at the latest poll averages in pollster.com in each race for senator and governor. Color in the percentage (rounded off; no need for tenths) by which either the Republican or Democratic candidate is leading (I use blue for Republicans, red for Democrats) in each state.
The results are revealing, even breathtaking.
The map of the Senate races shows Republicans leading over almost all the landmass of America. Democrats are ahead in the three West Coast states and Hawaii (though not by much in California and Washington) and by 1 point in Nevada. They're also ahead in four states along the Atlantic Coast -- Maryland, Delaware, New York, Connecticut -- plus Vermont.
Republicans lead in all the other Senate races, from Philadelphia to Phoenix and Boca Raton to Boise. True, their candidate leads by only 1 point in Barack Obama's home state of Illinois. And they've got narrow leads in some mountain states (West Virginia, Colorado, Kentucky).

Stop Calling Him Honey and Start Having Sex: How Changing Your Everyday Habits Will Make You Hot for Each Other All Over Again. Great title!

AP: George Blanda, one of the greatest football players of all time, died at 83. He was one of the razzle-dazzle QBs in the new AFL in the early 1960s.

New York Post: Obamacare will redistribution health. It will vastly expand Medicaid and eviscerate Medicare.

Inside Higher Ed: Obamacare is killing student health insurance.

Mail has some amazing maps of American cities that show the racial breakdown.

Wisconsin may be an omen for the battle for America 2010.

Peggy Noonan on the Exhausted vs. the Enraged. I think I'm both.

Oh no. Now credit unions are in trouble and need bail outs.

What is the latest front in the PC war? Criticism of Islam.

Reason: "At a time when the country is massively in debt, and taxpayers are sick of inefficient and wasteful government spending, these two [Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) and Patty Murry (D-Wash)] don't just embrace pork, they've made it a campaign slogan." If Blanche still thinks that stunt will work....!

Politico: Andrew Jackson was the father of the tea party movement. Makes some sense. The political establishment of his time was as dug in as ours is today. Think John Quincey Adams, the son of a president, and James Monroe, who fought in the American Revolution. It was time of the people from west of the Appalachians to have their turn.

James Tarano: If Obama has lost Margaret Carlson, he's lost Middle America.

NYT has an article claiming that Medicare Advantage premiums will drop slightly in 2011. So let's just wait and see.

Right Side News has an article about future cuts to Medicare Advantage plans. "The bottom line is clear: If the "reforms" in Medicare Advantage made by the PPACA are allowed to go into effect, they will inevitably and  unambiguously restrict senior citizens and the disabled to fewer and worse health care choices, reducing their access to quality health care." PPACA is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

As we approach November 15, the date to change Medicare coverage if you wish, we will see more junk mail offering us new insurance. One change that I've seen recently is Medicare Supplement Plan N. I probably won't take it, but I'm going to look at it. See page 13 of this link.

Supplemental policies are also called Medigap insurance. 

Ann Althouse put the Titanic back in the headlines again.

The Republicans have come out with a Pledge to America, reminiscent of their Contract with America during the Clinton administration.

GOP Pledge to America     

Researchers are still looking at the Titanic site. It's an endlessly fascinating mystery. They are using pictures of the Titanic wreck in 3-D, high definition.

This article asserts that the Titanic struck the iceberg because of a steering error, and the caption's decision to keep sailing after the ship hit the berg caused it to sink faster.

If you are wondering what you will pay for a Medicare Advantage plan next year, here's an early look. Much more detailed information should be out on the web soon. You remember that Obamacare tried to kill Advantage plans, so the real effects of health care reform will not be felt for a couple of years.

News Busters has the latest numbers for the major networks evening news programs, and they are pathetic.

Ron Radosh on Mao's Great Leap Forward. Mao was one of the most brutal mass murderers of the twentieth century.

Jason Tolbert: Today Blanche Lincoln voted against repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell but not because she's really against Don't Ask Don't Tell.

Is that clear?

Washington Post: Major health insurers will stop offering new child-only policies rather than comply with the new health-care law.

According to CNN, economists says that the Bush tax cuts should be extended for everyone, even the wealthiest.

Real Clear Politics: Blanche Lincoln is 25 points behind.

Town Hall questioner to Obama: "I'm one of your middle class Americans. And quite frankly, I'm exhausted. Exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that I voted for," a woman told President Obama at a town hall. See video.

Politico: Christine O'Donnell, the tea party sensation, gives a rousing speech. Why did she take so long to finish her college degree?

"I never had the high-paying job or the company car. It took me over a decade to pay off my student loans. I never had to worry about where to dock my yacht to reduce my taxes," she said, jabbing at Sen. John Kerry for dodging a six-figure yacht tax in his home state. '"And I'll bet most of you didn't, either."

There's more:

"We're not trying to take back our country. We are our country," O'Donnell said, before making a subtle reference to a phrase Obama has been using on the campaign trail. "That's what's happening in America today, the grown-ups are taking away the keys."

Young Lawyers Blog: Tips for viewing large documents on your iPad.

Tax Prof: Recent migration trends using IRS data show that people move from blue states to red states, from high tax states to low tax states.

Earlier people headed to California and Michigan looking for jobs. Now they are going the other way. 

If you are interested in Blanche Lincoln's position on abortion see Jason Tolbert's column here. See also his comment on his blog. Blanche has an extreme pro-abortion record.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass) is denouncing the tea party movement and mocking Republicans as "Sarah Palin's party." Glenn Reynolds comments: “I think the Tea Party couldn’t ask for any better publicity than to be denounced by a millionaire who dodges paying taxes on his yacht.”
Who's paying any attention to him anyway?

ADG: The Pulaski County Special School District has purchased 20 new iPads for its board and superintendent but they don't have enough textbooks for students! The iPads cost about $16,000. Part of the problem is that they don't know where all of their textbooks are. Wait until they can't find their iPads!

See savepcssd.org.

Glenn Reynolds has an interview with Scott Rasmussen, who has written a new book called Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement is Fundamentally Remaking our Two-Party System. See Amazon.

Jay Jennings has a new book, Carry the Rock: Race, Football, and the Soul of an American City, about the 1957 Little Rock school integration crisis and Central's 2007 football season.

The WSJ has a review. 

Politico: Christine O'Donnell, a tea partier, has won an upset victory against the mainline GOP candidate in Delaware for Joe Biden's Senate seat.

Ann Althouse is extremely critical of Obama's back to school speech. It contained "blatant lies." She points out that he said that kids could dream big and be whatever they wanted to be. Not true. They want to be movie stars and professional athletes. Even when they have very reasonable dreams, those are not happening either.

Jason Tolbert: The Lincoln County school district will use a federal grant to supply all students with MacBooks. Well, I'm jealous.

AP: The French Senate has voted 246-1 for a bill that bans the burqa-style Islamic veil.

Ann Althouse received an email from Obama. She voted for him, she has reported. As punishment she gets an email.

Michael Barone on the latest developments in Obamacare. This would be amusing if it were not so serious.

Glenn Reynolds on Tom Brady's wreck Audi and nonprofits. "For all the talk about bloat and dishonesty in the for-profit sector, I think people are foolish to believe that the nonprofit sector — where it’s all other people’s money, without the discipline of the need to make, you know, profits, and with substantially less scrutiny from the press — is any better. Be sure to read the comments at the link. My favorite: 'Why is he driving a car registered in NJ if he lives in Boston and it is primarily garaged in Mass? 30 days in the aggregate and it is unregistered operation. Mass law and tax don’t count I guess to the beautiful people.' Nope. Taxes are for the little people!"

Scotty Graham's interesting photographs.

Hillary is looking better and better. Democrats picked the wrong candidate in 2008. This is the growing belief in Washington.

Jonah Goldberg: Obama is not the next FDR as many Democrats  hoped; he's the next Hoover.

Jason Tolbert has a summary of today's Boozman/ Lincoln debate here.

Politico: Democrats believe they are not looking at another 1994 wipeout.

WSJ: Change is coming in the next Congress no matter which party is in control. The Obama heyday is over.

AP: Highway deaths fall to their lowest level since 1950. The data are here.

When eating out, according to this survey, chefs say they avoid pasta and chicken. Those dishes are the most overpriced. Chefs have a favorite chain: Wendy's.

Alabama and Penn State will play this Saturday. I expect it will be a thrilling game like those they have played over the years.

NY Daily News: A lot of moderate Democrats will find Hillary an attractive candidate in 2012.
No doubt about that. 

Daily Caller: "America’s most sacrosanct bubble is damn near ready to burst. The experts are hardly of a mind on the details, but most of them can agree on one thing: It’s no longer a question of “if,” but “when” the prevalence of easy credit will bring higher education to its knees." Our student loan debt now surpasses our national credit card debt for the first time.

American Enterprise Institute: The higher education bubble is far worse than the housing bubble. Look out!

Business Insider sees 13 signs that we are already in a Depression.

I fail to understand why we are talking about a pardon for Billy the Kid. What is the point?

The NYT has an interesting article on study habits. Among other things, it claims that ideas that some children are visual learners and others are auditory, or that some are "left-brain" and others are "right brain," are all nonsense. These idea lack any empirical proof.

I often wondered about such claims. In fact I doubt all educational "truths."

AP: Reggie Bush will be stripped of his Heisman. This is the first time a winner has ever had the trophy taken away.

Business Insider: The Android phone is gaining market share on the leading iPhone.

If you are 65 and older and have high blood pressure, you might want to drink coffee in moderation.

AP: Jefferson Thomas, one of the Little Rock 9 who integrated Central High School in 1957, has died at age 67.

Check out Bumper Sticker Insurrection.

The Gender Gap myth has been in the news lately. See Marty Nemko's discussion and links. Actually it's men who earn less. See also this 2005 NYT op-ed. Warren Farrell asks, "If an employer has to pay a man one dollar for the same work a woman would do for 76 cents, why would anyone hire a man?"

Victor Davis Hanson rants about academics and academic life. Even on a small, rural campus, I have seen enough of it to know where he's coming from.

AP: Toyota Prius was the top selling car in Japan during August for the 16th straight month.

Megan McArdle on the payroll tax holiday, an idea currently floating around. She's against it because it's too late now.

Michael Barone has joined those who decry the higher education bubble.

Garden and Gun: "Southern culture isn’t just present in New York City. It’s thriving like never before. The best new bars, shops, and restaurants all seem to have Southern roots. A majority of the tastemakers and trendsetters are Southern, too. Everywhere you go, someone’s pickling something or preserving something or handcrafting something or distilling something. Even the city’s social life has taken on a twang."

The best game yesterday was Jacksonville State's double-overtime victory over Ole Miss, 49-48.

GPS dating is a way to meet people using your iPhone.

Wired: New Mars images.

Freakonomics is a NYT blog. Looks interesting.

AP: Obama is planning a new stimulus package. I'm sure this one will work.

Larry Sabato predicts a GOP tidal wave this fall. Republicans will take over the House, but maybe fall one seat short in the Senate.

It might be time to consider one of the new IPods.

This new blog is devoted to historic adventure fiction. Some of my favorite writers are listed here: Arthur Conan Doyle, Clive Cussler, Robert Louis Stevenson, and others.

Michael Barone: Down with Big Government, Big Business, and Big Labor!

Changing Times

AP: The Michigan State Fair has been canceled. Gov. Jennifer Granholm said the state could no longer subsidize it. Attendance has been down in recent years. Other state fairs are still doing well.

I have observed a county fair and frankly wondered what the point of it was. I could see the agricultural part of it as worthwhile, but not the carnival.