Rethink.

Caitlin Flanagan, “The Madness of Cesar Chavez” – thought I linked to this already. From the article: In harvest season, the temperature will climb to over 100 degrees many days, and the rubbed velvet of the spring will have given way to a choking dust. Almost none of the workers breathing it will have a …

Alice Shapiro, “Laze away the day” – the poem is awesome, but don’t miss the commentary. It concerns some themes I’ve been thinking about a lot recently. Megan McArdle, “The GOP’s Magical, Mystical Relationship With Business” – from the article: No matter how little we tax or regulate business, it is very unlikely that we …

Bill Ardolino, “Real Progress in Afghanistan… but to what end?” – from the article: At the very least, momentum in punishing the Taliban requires another year or two at the current operational tempo. But ideally, if the goal is to keep the country from reverting to a redoubt for violent extremists, the stabilization of Afghanistan …

David Blight, “Forgetting Why We Remember” – from the article: By their labor, their words, their songs and their solemn parade on their former owners’ racecourse, black Charlestonians created for themselves, and for us, the Independence Day of a Second American Revolution. James Parker, “The Beast Within” – from the article: But I keep coming …

Megan McArdle, “What if Our National Budget Belonged to a Typical Household?” – from the article, Dave Ramsey quoted: [t]he federal government will take in $2.173 trillion in 2011. That’s their income, and it sounds pretty good. Until, that is, you factor in that the federal government will spend $3.818 trillion during the year. So, …

Jay Cost, “If Our ‘Food Stamp Recovery’ Persists, Obama Will Lose Big” – I could care less about the results of the next election when faced with a problem like this. From the article: …the ability of the private sector to provide people with a stable standard of living is in a long-term decline, one …

Megan McArdle, “Retrospective Cold Feet” – from the article: People’s memories change–as Lori Gottlieb points out in Marry Him, scientists who interviewed couples in their first year of marriage, and then again seven years later, found that the happy couples had retroactively rewritten their meeting story to be more positive (love at first sight!) while …

Lots to do the next few days. I may return to quietness. Megan McArdle, “Just a Little Tax Hike…” – from the article: Without arguing about whether our tax system is fair or not, the fact is that the federal income tax is the most variable part of the code, and the federal income tax …

Megan McArdle, “The People’s Budget” – from the article: …if you want to get the budget under control without meaningfully cutting into entitlements, you’re going to need to hike taxes substantially on the middle class.  I’m waiting for the first politician to say this out loud. Jay Cost, “The Donald Attacks!” – a comparison between …