I'm more with Dowd than Halevi here. More on Israeli concerns here. Meanwhile, in DC, lobbyists are gearing up.

It's a good week to not be in the Midwest.

What does the President's emphasis on science mean for the humanities? And by humanities, we also mean critical thinking skills. Which brings me to another review--Elizabeth Kolbert's--of "Tiger Mother". This excerpt begins with an excerpt from the book:

I didn’t care about the rights of criminals the way others did, and I froze whenever a professor called on me. I also wasn’t naturally skeptical and questioning; I just wanted to write down everything the professor said and memorize it.

“Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” exhibits much the same lack of interest in critical thinking. It’s breezily written, at times entertaining, and devoid of anything approaching introspection.

Yeah, no offense to Barbara Bush or anything, but I was wondering who the f* cared about her endorsement. Then again, maybe it matters more than one might have thought.

On the topic of other celebrity endorsements that hopefully matter more than I think they will: it's vegan week on Oprah.