Here’s a nifty efficiency idea: You know how when there aren’t any fires, the firefighters don’t have much to do other than to cook and clean their fire trucks? How about having them use that down time to fight crime?

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom suggested Monday that the city park fire trucks and their crews on streets in violence-prone neighborhoods to deter crime.
A thug, he suggested, would be less likely to shoot someone in front of a firefighter.
. . .
His idea is to pull the firefighters out of their firehouses, where they’re stationed when not responding to fires and medical emergencies, and plant them in their rigs nearby — visible to the public. There are 43 fire stations in San Francisco.

The neat thing is that when the shooting erupts out on the streets, the firefighters will have their water hoses handy to douse the violence and restore order.

Nathan Newman the ugly details on Senator Rick Santorum’s (R-PA) minimum wage decrease “increase.”
Even though I’ve been aware of it for years, I continue to be amazed how blatantly these people favor wealth over work . . . and continue to get away with it. You’d think sooner or later many people around here would figure out that they’re really getting screwed by the very party they support. But apparently the flag and ten commandment waving is enough for many to forget basic self-interest.

I’ve been seeing this girl for a couple months now. On Saturday we went hiking in the mountains and the sparks were really flying. On the way back through Gatlinburg we saw one of those wedding chapels and decided to take the plunge. . . .
No. I kid.
On Saturday night I was actually browsing at this site. Suddenly, a crazed force took over the mouse and now I’m registered for the half marathon.
I know that for many runners, 13 miles isn’t a big deal. And my general health should be good enough to handle it. The problem is that I hadn’t been running much the past month or so; I’ve primarily been cycling. And when I did run, it was always usually for about 45 minutes. In fact, my longest runs ever are only 11 miles (around Cades Cove). So, I’m not at the level I should be for this.
Therefore, on Sunday I launched an accelerated training program, jogging for 90 minutes. Lest I was unsure on this point, my muscles have since reminded me there’s quite a difference between a 45 minute run and a 90 minute one. Probably going to be feeling it tomorrow.
One good thing about waiting until the last minute to train for a “long” run is that at least you don’t have to suffer through many training runs. Ninety minutes of jogging is kind of boring.

. . . to the Tennessee Lady Vols, 2005 SEC Tournament champions!
Now, if the UT Athletic Department would get serious about the men’s program and find a winning coach, this season would end on a good note.

If you ever suspect there are a lot of “dumb” Americans around, perhaps it’s because there are:

# The United States is 49th in the world in literacy (The New York Times, Dec. 12, 2004).
# The United States ranked 28th out of 40 countries in mathematical literacy (NYT, Dec. 12, 2004).
# One-third of our science teachers and one-half of our math teachers did not major in those subjects. (Quoted on “The West Wing,” but you can trust it — their researchers are legendary.)
# Twenty percent of Americans think the sun orbits the Earth. Seventeen percent believe the Earth revolves around the sun once a day (The Week, Jan. 7, 2005).
# “The International Adult Literacy Survey … found that Americans with less than nine years of education ‘score worse than virtually all of the other countries'” (Jeremy Rifkin’s superbly documented book The European Dream: How Europe’s Vision of the Future Is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream, p.78).
# Our workers are so ignorant, and lack so many basic skills, that American businesses spend $30 billion a year on remedial training (NYT, Dec. 12, 2004). No wonder they relocate elsewhere!

Twenty percent of Americans think the sun orbits the earth? Suddenly some of the opinion poll findings I see make more sense.
Read the whole piece to see why America may not “Number 1” anymore:

No. 1? In most important categories we’re not even in the Top 10 anymore. Not even close.
The USA is “No. 1” in nothing but weaponry, consumer spending, debt, and delusion.

Indeed.