If I were a betting man, and had bet on some of my predictions, I would have made a couple of pounds today. Here’s a scary thought–Germany has scored more goals than any other team in the tournament (including four goals three times), and completely and utterly dominated Argentina, without their best player, Michael Ballack. Commentators too numerous to mention were hoping that Maradona’s preening would get a reality check, and boy, were they happy. I gather there was dancing in the streets in Brazil. Today’s game may take a bit out of the sting of England’s 4-1 loss, and also may put Ghana’s 1-0 loss to Germany in perspective. If they keep playing the way they did today, it’s difficult to see Germany not winning the whole shebang. First, however, they need to get past Spain. But Spain didn’t really look all that sharp today, and were lucky to not end up goalless against a scrappy Paraguay team that looks a whole lot weaker on paper than they played. Spain needs to take their game up at least a notch if they’re going to compete against a German team that seems to get stronger as the tournament progresses. I don’t see that happening. What was particularly impressive was that Germany tailored their game to challenge Argentina’s defensive weaknesses, and were able to execute the game plan perfectly. Expect something similar against Spain, who got pretty tangled up today by a team that was supposed to be much weaker. Plus there’s the revenge factor–Spain beat Germany 1-0 in the European Cup final two years ago. Germany 3-1.
Full story »

Back in February I authored a look at the implications of Colorado’s infamous Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) on the state, and in particular on the city of Colorado Springs, which has been forced to cut services that most would regard as essential in order to comply with one of the most foolish bits of legislation in the nation. Teabagger Paradise, I called it, and it must be admitted that my tone was on the snarky side in spots, and I accept that those who don’t share my take might have been a little put off. Sorry about. Still, I stand by my conclusions.

When all is said and done, the most satisfying course of action will be to grab some popcorn, pull up a chair and enjoy the show. Full story »

When the CRU emails were published, Pennsylvania State University (PSU) received many emails and letters accusing paleoclimate researcher Dr. Michael Mann of various types of research misconduct. PSU assembled the various informal accusations into a set of four allegations and began an internal investigation into Mann’s activities. Three of the four allegations were dismissed by the preliminary inquiry on February 3, but the inquiry concluded that the existing panel lacked the expertise to make a judgment on the last allegation and empaneled a faculty investigation. That investigation released its conclusions yesterday, finding unanimously that:

Dr. Michael Mann did not engage in, nor did he participate in, directly or indirectly, any actions that seriously deviated from accepted practices within the academic community for proposing, conducting, or reporting research, or other scholarly activities.

Full story »

“Freedom of any kind is the worst for creativity.” Who said it? Full story »

What Would Jesus Do? Let’s see what some of His prominent followers are up to and maybe that will give us a clue.

Full story »

The following two headlines are factually accurate and grammatically equivalent.

1: Spokeo Violates Federal Consumer Protection Law, Group Alleges

2: Group Alleges Spokeo Violates Federal Consumer Protection Law

(Story.)

However, from a journalistic ethics standpoint, item #1 is problematic.

Discuss.