Hot off the Press: Out like a lion edition

For those who think the Iowa men's basketball program has been in a funk the last couple years (which, relatively, it has), check this out. Last Tuesday night, the men's basketball team at Caltech won its first conference game since 1985: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/24/sports/ncaabasketball/24caltech.html.

A state-by-state study of US history standards in public schools gave Iowa's history curriculum a "F": http://thegazette.com/2011/02/22/iowa-gets-an-f-in-history/.

"Iowa taxpayers paid $43 million to subsidize research at more than 130 corporations that paid no state income taxes last year, according to a report released Friday about one of the state's premier business tax credits": http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110212/BUSINESS/102120333/Firms-pay-no-income-taxes-get-millions-subsidies?odyssey=obinsite.

So you think Congress repealed the "don't ask, don't tell" policy? Think again. According to this article, the policy remains in place because Congress only passed a measure that created mechanisms for repealing it: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/us/politics/23repeal.html. Not that this matters to me personally, but it is yet another example of the type of civil discrimination that really gets me boiling.

Ugh! Speaking about civil rights, the Republicans in the Iowa House are at it again, this time proposing a bill that would prohibit county recorders from issuing same-sex marriage licenses and that the state's Supreme Court would not be able to rule on the bill: http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2011/02/23/prohibit-supreme-court-from-ruling-on-marriage-republicans-say/. This kind of tampering of the state's checks and balances is scary.

The talented closer for the Kansas City Royals (yes, I just used "talented" and "Kansas City Royals" in the same sentence) wants no part of his nickname, "The Mexicutioner": http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2011/news/story?id=6151322. I can't blame the guy.

Kadafi, Qaddafi, Gaddafi, or Gadhafi? How the hell do you spell the guy's name?: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/readers/2011/02/its-kadafi-at-least-according-to-the-la-times.html.

"New Mexico's Bet on Space Tourism Hits a Snag": http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/24/us/24spaceport.html. Whether it is luring high-end shopping, building a spaceport, or opening a casino, it seems the local economic strategy sweeping the nation is attracting and catering to filthy rich tourists. Feudalism, anyone?