My family has always had a low taste for over the top hymn lyrics. My mother’s favorite line in the 1940 Episcopal hymnal came from James Russell Lowell’s protest against the Mexican War: “By the light of burning martyrs, Jesus’ bleeding feet I track.” As I kid, I was struck by a couple of verses […]

The jobs of the future are already here. Businesses like the picture-sharing phone application Instagram are opening the floodgates to innovation. The NYT reports: These entrepreneurs have realized that they can piggyback on the popularity of Instagram, which has more than 100 million users, and create their own businesses, some of which have turned out […]

The solar industry’s track record just keeps getting worse and worse. SolarCity, SunRun and Sungevity, three large solar firms, are being investigated by the US Treasury for possibly “misrepresenting” their costs in order to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax grants and credits. The firms received the money under the 1603 plan, a $13 billion program […]

The American shale gas boom is roaring ahead and the consequences are remaking our future. The FT reports: Manufacturers have announced more than $90bn worth of investments in the US to take advantage of its cheap natural gas, according to new calculations, underlining how the shale revolution appears to be driving the country’s industrial renaissance.Petrochemicals, […]

Now safely back in the White House with another four year term, President Obama is showing how he plans to use some of his time—and it can’t be making Hollywood happy. On being asked about Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez’ struggle with cancer, Obama responded by saying, correctly, that “The most important thing is to remember […]

Israel’s controversial foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman is stepping down from the cabinet and asking the Israeli parliament (the Knesset) to suspend his parliamentary immunity so that charges against him can be examined in court. Via Meadia has no view on the charges against Mr. Lieberman; we note that a lot of Israeli politicians get in […]

After months of violence between Buddhist and Muslim communities in western Burma, the authorities are making a big move to prevent further conflict, reports the Myanmar Times: More than 1000 people suspected of taking part in the intercommunal violence in Rakhine State have been detained, and nearly 5000 weapons have been seized by the government. […]

New York remains the hub of the nation’s financial industry, but over the past few years, the city has been losing ground to a collection of cities across the country, including Salt Lake City, Columbus, and St. Louis. As the Wall Street Journal notes, the reasons are all too familiar: Banks are fleeing the high taxes, high cost […]

Want to become a millionaire fast? Become a college president.The New York Times covers a report from the Chronicle of Higher Education that found that the the median salary for a college president at a large school has risen to $396,588. In 2004, five presidents earned an annual salary over $1 million. By 2010, more than 30 presidents earned […]

…and thank goodness he did. The U.S., along with Canada, the UK, and a handful of other sensible countries, has walked away from the deranged plan to “occupy the internet” strongly supported by that wonderful thing, the “global community.”The International Telecommunications Union (“committed to connecting the world”), another innocently named UN bureaucracy with great destructive […]