Monthly Archives: June 2012

I Have Discovered the Secret Boston Headquarters of the Knights Templar

Posted on June 17, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

And it’s located on Marlborough Street: It is only one block away from the local Scientology headquarters. Coincidence? I think not. I feel a Dan Brown novel coming on….

Posted in Boston, WhatEVAH! | Comments Off on I Have Discovered the Secret Boston Headquarters of the Knights Templar

Education Reform For Thee, But Not For Me: What Education Reform Should Really Be

Posted on June 17, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

A critical political Obama ally is billionaire Penny Pritzker. Pritzker also happens to be a member of the Chicago Board of Education and a fan of education ‘reform’ (boldface mine): Farmer is a trial lawyer. He describes how he bristled … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Links 6/16/12

Posted on June 16, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Mapping the healthy human microbiome Not Free, Not Easy, Not Trivial — The Warehousing and Delivery of Digital Goods Male Homosexuality Study: Gay Men Have Evolutionary Benefit For Their Families, New Research Suggests (no idea what … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on June 16, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

It goes to teacher Dan Clawson commenting on the out-of-state-funded push to weaken teacher protections in Massachusetts (and here’s the reality in charter schools, by the way)–because Massachusetts only has one of the best educational systems in the world (boldface … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 2 Comments

Links 6/15/12

Posted on June 15, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Kidney-Damage Drug Seen Attacking Spread of Superbacteria Science Literacy: A Worldwide Look Creationists vs. Evolutionists: An American Story (I put this here for debate; I don’t buy that there was a truce. These flames were fanned … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | 1 Comment

Shouldn’t Germany Have a Unique Appreciation of the Political Consequences of Foreign Denominated Debt?

Posted on June 15, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

For those who haven’t been following the slow-motion pandimensional clusterfuck that is the Eurozone periphery (e.g., Greece, Spain, Ireland), the fundamental problem is that these countries can’t control their own currencies. In essence, there is a ‘United States of Europe’, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Fucking Morons | 3 Comments

Income Inequality and the Cost of College

Posted on June 15, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

I’ve just finished reading Charles Ferguson’s Predator Nation, and there’s a brief section on college education that seemed germane to what Dean Dad writes about the continuing runaway college costs (boldface mine): Here’s a toughie that many parents — myself … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Taxes | Comments Off on Income Inequality and the Cost of College

Links 6/14/12

Posted on June 14, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Helical bacteria: the benefits of being twisted I have to Get Vaccinated for Whooping Cough – Maybe you should also NASA abandons budget-busting X-ray telescope (one more reason why misunderstanding deficits matters) If it ain’t broke… … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | Comments Off on Links 6/14/12

The Looming Retirement Savings Crisis

Posted on June 14, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

There have been whisperings of a Grand Bargain to be enacted during the lame duck session after the 2012 election, all which which involve slashing public retirement benefits (that is, Social Security and Medicare). This is a disaster-in-waiting as many … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Social Security | 2 Comments

How Big Banks Are Raising Your MBTA Fare: The Interest Rate Swap Edition

Posted on June 14, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

As readers might know, Massachusetts’ public transit, the MBTA, has massive budget problems. The primary reason is that the Big Dig debt was piled onto the MBTA, with the false assumption that a portion of the sales tax and fares … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness, Boston, Massachusetts, Transportation | 2 Comments