Elephant In Exile

Back to School Edition:

Is our children learning? I'm not sure and I'm not sure I care. August is coming to an end soon and that means Congress will be back in town and my work load will grow exponentially (if only because it is now close to zero). So it has me filled with a little anticipation. It sort of reminds me of getting ready to go back to school, circa 1979. The summer was still full on, but my mom dragged me off to J.C. Penny (It was the only store in the great white North at the time) to get some school clothes and my annual treat of a new lunch box and a trapper keeper. Anyway, even if there were a couple weeks left before school started, there was a shadow over the rest of the summer.

Kind of feel that way today. So, with no relation to this topic at all, here's your weekend reading:

Hands off our homes

IF YOU ever doubted the importance of the Supreme Court, consider the fuss about Kelo v New London. The five-to-four ruling by the court on June 23rd, apparently giving the government the power to bulldoze homes on flimsy grounds, has set off fiery protests across the country.

http://economist.com/world/na/displayStory.cfm?story_id=4298759

God vs. Darwin: No Contest
The God vs. Darwin debate
went to the White House last week when President Bush weighed in, stating in a roundtable interview with reporters that "intelligent design" should be taught along with evolution in public schools. It's a move that has undoubtedly pleased the president's conservative religious base. However, it has also caused much unhappiness among those conservatives who want the Republican Party to be something other than a political arm of the religious right, including such strong Bush supporters as columnist Charles Krauthammer and University of Tennessee law professor/blogger Glenn Reynolds.

http://www.reason.com/cy/cy080905.shtml

Do We Need the Space Station? (Ummm..NO!)
Now that the U.S. space shuttle fleet has been grounded until NASA can solve its foam-shedding problem, it's time to re-examine the future of the International Space Station.
http://www.rednova.com/news/space/208187/do_we_need_the_space_station/

That's good enough...I mean after googling day in and day out for most of the month, I'm getting tired of looking at the computer screen. Have a good weekend.