"Hot" off the Press: The Shadow Scholar edition

So much for the "will of the people" rallying cry for conservatives: Iowa's governor-elect Branstad and the soon to be House Speaker have said they will not fund a voter approved conservation fund: http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2010/11/03/branstad-paulsen-no-sales-tax-increase-for-voter-approved-conservation-fund/.

To alleviate a $25 billion budget shortfall, Republicans in Texas have floated the idea of opting out of the federal Medicaid program: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/us/politics/07ttmedicaid.html?src=me&ref=us.

Great NYT video about a one-factory Russian town on the shore of Lake Baikal and the balance (mostly imbalance) between environmental concerns and employment: http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/11/08/world/europe/1248069280321/troubles-on-russia-s-lake-baikal.html?ref=europe.

Another NYT vid, only this one is disturbing. Scouts in the southern part of Brazil are searching for new models. They walk around towns and are allowed into schools to check out young teens : http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/06/08/world/americas/1247468006067/finding-supermodels-in-rural-brazil.html. If you ask me, this is just professional pedophilia.

Der Spiegel profiles a member of America's "Nouveau Poor": http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,728368,00.html. The domestic press has largely ignored the human, every day affects of The Great Recession in this country.

A report from the Justice Department reveals that Nazis were brought into the US and given a "safe haven": http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/us/14nazis.html?_r=1&hp.

After reports that a number of Chinese made versions contained unsafe levels of lead, the environmental benefits of reusable grocery bags is being questioned: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/15/nyregion/15bags.html?_r=1. Here's a tip: anything synthetic is bad for the environment. Almost everything about our modern, western lifestyle is detrimental to the environment.

Wow. Here is a revealing essay — brought to my attention by Bobblehead — published in The Chronicle of Higher Education by "The Shadow Scholar," a man who has made a career of writing papers for college students: http://chronicle.com/article/article-content/125329/. Insane. I have to say, the essay is very well written.