Brian Gongol
Direct costs of 9/11: $3.3 trillion
That's the estimate from the New York Times, accounting for the costs of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, veterans' care,
Jack Bogle has good advice for at least 95% of American investors
Just get into a mutual fund that tracks a broad-based stock market index like the S&:P 500, and then leave it alone. He's wrong to criticize Mark Cuban for advocating concentrated investing -- which is the right thing to do, if and only if one is willing to spend a lot of time and effort on research and mental exercise. That's good for about 5% of investors.
Gov. Rick Perry is no Galileo
Unemployment rates are significantly correlated with educational attainment
Unemployment rate for those with no college: 9.6%. For those without a high school diploma: 14.3%. For those with at least a bachelor's degree: 4.3%. There are lots of smart people who don't have degrees, and there are lots of idiots who do, but it's quite clear that a college degree is the best insurance policy available against unemployment right now.
Once you put something on the Internet, it stays there forever
Rep. Michele Bachmann's family may need to take a closer look at their Facebook privacy settings
Politicians do not create jobs
For as often as President Obama likes to say, "Let me be clear", he fails to be clear about this very important point: Politicians don't create jobs in the private sector. They like to take credit for so doing, but it's not what they do. The best they can do is create and maintain a healthy environment with a level economic playing field in which private-sector firms can flourish and create jobs. But "job creation" isn't something the government does, nor should it try to take credit for so doing.
German resignations from the European Central Bank make the future of the Euro look more uncertain
Germany is the most economically-stable and responsible member of the Euro zone, so when its economic wise men start leaving the ECB, it makes the ECB look less credible, to say the least.
FBI prepares to let everyone use the "Anti-Piracy Warning" seal
It's the seal flashed over an annoying blue screen on legally-purchased DVDs, among other things. But at long last, it's being acknowledged that it isn't just the cadre of Warner Brothers and Disney that create content that people are out to steal. Soon, the seal could start appearing on personal websites.
Why everyone should know self-defense: Case study #6
A 22-year-old man has been charged with assault with intent to commit sexual abuse for breaking into a home in northeast Iowa armed with a rifle, duct tape, and a camera. The woman he's accused of attacking was able to scream loud enough to wake other family members at home at the time, but if she'd been home alone, it's pretty clear that bad things could have happened. The world has too many creeps, and some of them are willing to break into people's homes.
