Hot off the Press: Old school Hawks edition

Taxes are on the rise in California: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-taxes27-2009aug27,0,1796963.story. Since I'm one of those smart people who hasn't burdened myself with car payments, a mortgage, a wife, kids, and oodles of school loans, and I don't feel any need to buy every cool thing I see and want, I don't give a fuck. I'll only be paying $125 more in income tax.

The recession has hit volunteering: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/27/us/27volunteer.html?ref=us.

"At least four million Americans under age 65 are exposed to high doses of radiation each year from medical imaging tests, according to a new study in The New England Journal of Medicine": http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/27/health/research/27scan.html?ref=us.

NYT article about the slow and frustrating recovery being made in Cedar Rapid after last year's flooding: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/28/us/28cedar.html?_r=1.

James Murdoch, the son of you know who, said state broadcasting, like the BBC, and central regulation of television damages democracy and consumer choice: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article6814178.ece. I would gladly take the kind of impartial state-run television they have in Europe over the 400 channels of free market shit we have in the US.

Due to budget cuts, Cal State Dominguez Hills (I have no clue where that even is) has indefinitely discontinued publication of its student newspaper: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-et-onthemedia28-2009aug28,0,777290.column. The good news is that it may be revived in the future. But who knows when that will be.

The Great California Garage Sale turned out to be a bust, but a lot of people got new flat screen TVs: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-garage-sale29-2009aug29,0,596751.story.

I only read the first part of this piece. English teachers across the country are embracing a new approach to teaching literature: instead of the entire class reading the same book, each student is given the chance to choose the books they want to read: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/books/30reading.html?_r=1&hp.


Yes, that's Lee Corso, circa early-'80s when he was coaching the Hoosiers.

The migration tide has turned the other direction in Florida. Instead of moving in, people are moving out: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/us/30florida.html?ref=us.

Labor organizations are accusing Cost Cutters in Montana of trying to strip their stylists of the right to unionize: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/us/30labor.html?ref=us.

Cool CR Gazette article about the creation of Iowa's Tiger Hawk logo: http://gazetteonline.com/sports/iowa-hawkeyes/2009/08/30/c-r-art-director-man-behind-the-logo.

Intriguing DMR article about the increasing backlog of disability applications at the Social Security Administration, and the deepening bureaucracy those with debilitating disabilities need to navigate: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090830/NEWS/908300352/1001. God help you if you are disabled to the point where you can't work.

A recent study indicates that Nitrous Oxide, a gas emitted by the nitrogen fertilizer used on corn, is more harmful to ozone than CFCs: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090830/BUSINESS03/908300319.

Many of my young peers are also fans of health care reform: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/healthcare/la-na-healthcare-young30-2009aug30,0,7097253.story.

Some, like me, are becoming disillusioned and frightened by Facebook and are leaving the social network: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/magazine/30FOB-medium-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine. This is obviously not a real investigative report, but it provides a good overview of the exodus. I especially love this quote:

Is Facebook doomed to someday become an online ghost town, run by zombie users who never update their pages and packs of marketers picking at the corpses of social circles they once hoped to exploit? Sad, if so. Though maybe fated, like the demise of a college clique.

I keep saying I'm going to cancel my account, but I just never do it. What I am going to do, though, is remove as much information as I can.