Friday evening roundup

It's great that they're leveraging their privilege for the greater good, and it's great that they're coming to realize that real privilege of wealth is the ability to pay for health care and other necessities, rather than fancy dinners out and other luxuries. But no, we the common people would prefer that you take money from your parents than take up resources out of principle.

Columbia Heights is reeling from the murder of a small child, in his own home. Petula Dvorak points out that you can build a fancy Target with a fancy parking lot. And a yuppie vegan bakery. But that's not going to prevent crime. Meanwhile, far outside the city, a biology student collecting frogs is taken out by a hunter.

I'm glad Gail Collins pretty directly countered all of Dave Brooks' arguments. Most of the comments did the same, only much less thoughtfully.

I've had no trouble waiting for the third season of Mad Men to come out on DVD, because it's impossible not to have learned what happened with so much Mad Men based social commentary going around. This is at least the third piece I've read.

On a lighter note, I'm going to get a dwarf citrus tree and other fun stuff for the room that RM is now occupying.

Pearlstein laments the political CYA on mammograms.

Two Bush administration officials defend Holder's civilian-trial-in-NYC decision.

Charles Lane calls for more accuracy in the way we talk about food insecurity.