Scary Quotes

"3. Social Security won't much change, keeping in mind that the number of elderly voters is growing larger every day. Given all their elderly white voters, the Republicans are already "the party of Medicare." The Democrats have become "the party of Medicaid." That locks three major programs into place, more or less. I don't hear serious talk of major cuts in defense spending."~Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution

Cross Country Train

"Why don't more of us take the train, and why doesn't Washington invest in the rails across the country to give more of the country, and not just the northeast corridor, the pleasure of the Acela, with speeds up to 150 mph between Boston and Washington?" -Peter King, SI

This is a really stupid question. Why would you want travel across the country on speeds of up to 150 mph on a train when you can do so on speeds up to 500 mph in a plane? Trains are a very enjoyable and efficient means of travel for trips under 250 miles (and probably 500 miles for the forseeable future depending on the price of gas).

Trompe L'Oeil Speedbump

TTAC calls this the 'creepiest application of the “trompe-l’œil speedbump”'. I have to agree. I wonder if this is really more effective than a physical speed bump or will it just cause a couple of older folks to have a cardiac arrest when they are under the false impression that they just ran over some girl chasing after a pink ball in a parking garage?

Unfortunate Names: DC School Edition

One of the rumored short listers to replace Michelle Rhee (assuming that Mayor-Elect Gray cans her) is a fellow by the name of Robert Bobb, or to be less formal, Bob Bobb. While Bobb-Squared's parents must have had contempt for their child, they did create an impressive fellow. Here's his wiki.