By John Y. Brown III, on Mon Feb 13, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET  Daily Gratitude.
I try to do this daily.
Think of something–anything–I’m grateful for. Puts me in a pleasant and generous frame of mind for the day. And it’s easier than you think.
This morning I’m at a stop light and look up at a store sign, “Amish Hills Furniture Store.”
I think to myself that I’m really grateful I wasn’t born Amish. I have tremendous respect for the Amish people, their culture and their faith, but I would have had difficulty thriving within it.
I would have been bullied a lot had I been born Amish. For one thing most Amish men seem to wear a beard. For whatever reason I’ve never been able to grow a beard. I’ve tried but have several bald patches and can, at best, only grow a soul patch or Fu Manchu mustache (which is worse looking than a patchy beard).
Another reason I’m grateful I’m not Amish is they seem to spend a lot of time building furniture. I’m a consultant and lawyer and not good with my hands. I wouldn’t be good at making chairs and tables. I may have invented Amish Minimalism but wouldn’t have succeeded in woodworking.
And Horse and Buggies? I gotta admit I like to get places faster and have a mild allergic reaction to horses. And wouldn’t do a good job mucking the stables. I’m better with cars.
So by the time the light turned green, I was feeling a heavy dose of gratitude for being Presbyterian and not Amish. I do wish Presbyterian was easier to spell. But other than that I know it’s a much better fit for me—and something I’m grateful for today. Especially the beard part.
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Mon Feb 13, 2012 at 9:15 AM ET New research has discovered that a drug currently used to treat cancer patients can reverse Alzheimer’s disease in mice. Is a new Alzheimer’s treatment on the horizon? [Time]
By John Y. Brown III, on Mon Feb 13, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET  Eureka!!
On Atlanta Concourse train and finally figured out a major conundrum about men and women and talking.
Recent studies show that contrary to conventional wisdom women do NOT talk more than men.
Then why do we assume they do?
I’m watching the men and women around me talking and the answer is clear. Women are into to it more. A lot more!! They are really engaged and talking like it’s a fun activity in and of itself.
On a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest) women feel about an 8 when talking (the equivalent of sunbathing).
For men, talking rates about a 2.5 (the equivalent of relieving themselves in the airport men’s room. Necessary but no external enjoyment apart from functionality).
In fact, one woman close to me on the Concourse appears to be saying a lot of words purely for the enjoyment factor alone. There is no other logical reason for her to be saying so many words in a row out loud except the intrinsic enjoyment. And her female friend and daughter are enjoying it too….what researchers call the “multiplier effect.”
So, woman don’t talk more than men….they just seem to because they get so much more out of it!! The are going at it with gusto and joy and men are treating talking like a learning disability they never overcame.
So, ladies and gents, when you are home tonight in bed talking to your spouse….remember, your wife is figuratively slathering on sun tan lotion all over herself and feeling like she’s on vacation.
And husbands are the metaphorical equivalent of being in line in the airport men’s room trying to patiently concentrate and get through this exercise with as little effort and mess as possible.
By Chris Schulz, RP Staff, on Fri Feb 10, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET The Russians have drilled down to a submerged lake in Antarctica that could contain water that is 20 million years old. This could give scientists a look at what the Earth was like back then. [yahoo.com]
A recently retrieved meteorite from Mars can give scientists a closer look at the Red Planet. [bbc.co.uk]
Digging a trench for future train tracks reveals an impressive archaeological find in California. [latimes.com]
Using “green” rain gardens can help replenish ground water supplies and prevent sewage overflows. [theatlanticcities.com]
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Feb 10, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
 TGIIST! Thank God it isn’t still Thursday!
I can’t say TGIF because Friday is just starting. It may be worse than Thursday for all I know.
TGIF is an aspirational thought that may or may not be correct. If Friday is a disappointment, I can still look forward to Saturday–or even Sunday if Saturday goes bad too– and not be wrong and regret saying TGIF.
I’m just overly cautious like that.
I mean, sure, I’d like to have a good day today and thank God for it and all that. But more than that I want to avoid making a mistake by getting my hopes up only to be disappointed.
For all I know….today (Friday) could be worse than Thursday.
But by saying TGIIST, I cover my bases. I really am glad Thursday is over. It was lousy yesterday. And by not getting my hopes up for today, I won’t be disappointed.
So, you know, TGIIST. That’s my way today of saying something positive that isn’t possibly misleading.
Did I explain that well enough or do I need to elaborate more?
Anyway, I guess what I’m saying is, if you want to have a good day today, go ahead.
But if it turns out to be a bad day, don’t blame me.
Blame somebody who said TGIF.
By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Feb 10, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET A11 is the one must-read page in today’s copy of The New York Times. That’s because No Labels’ full-page ad on The No Budget, No Pay Act is there, front and center.
The ad coincides with the release of the President’s budget this coming Monday, and to drive the message home No Labels also sent a letter to congressional leadership calling on Congress to pass the bipartisan No Budget, No Pay Act (H.R. 3643 / S. 1981), sponsored by Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) and Congressman Jim Cooper (D-TN). The Senate bill will receive a hearing by the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee in March. The press release is here and the complete ad copy is here.
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Fri Feb 10, 2012 at 9:15 AM ET According to Adam Schefter of ESPN two of the top quarterbacks that will be drafted this spring, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, have both scheduled their pro days on February 22. A pro day is when a college prospect will work out and show off exclusively for NFL scouts. For organizations that are looking to draft a QB to add to their roster this forces them to make a tough choice. [Twitter]
By Jason Grill, on Fri Feb 10, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET  There is no doubt that this campaign season is already off to a very partisan and negative start. Add that to congressional approval ratings and trust in government being at historical lows.
What does this equal?
Time for a real change in the way government functions and an end to the divisive attitude on Capitol Hill. The good thing is a grassroots movement is already happening.
No Labels is a group whose message is simple…”Not Left. Not Right. Forward.” They have offered a 2012 Make Congress Work plan, which consists of twelve simple and straightforward proposals to break gridlock, promote constructive discussion, and reduce polarization in Congress.
 Nearly 500,000 citizens have already supported the plan at NoLabels.Org and the first measure of the plan “No Budget, No Pay” is set for a United States Senate Hearing on March 7, 2012 in front of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. Its been over 1000 days since Congress passed a budget resolution!
The “No Budget, No Pay” solution is the only one of the twelve proposals that requires new legislation and its premise is simple, If Congress fails in its paramount responsibility to enact a federal budget, they wouldn’t get paid and if they are late they won’t get back pay. The bill already has bipartisan support on Capitol Hill and has been endorsed by Republicans, Democrats, and Independents.
Read the rest of…
Jason Grill: Time for a Change on Capitol Hill
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Thu Feb 9, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET  The Politics of Tech AT&T math: 250MB < 350MB < Unlimited < 3GB < 5GB [Mac Rumors]
Apple might be on the hook for a cool $1.6 billion. A Chinese company has won a lawsuit against Apple for trademark infringement related to their use of the name iPad. Apple is currently appealing. [Business Insider]
The controversial Wikileaks organization is said to be in the process of buying a boat that could house their servers and allow them to operate in international waters. [CNET]
With the launch of Windows 8 in the fall Microsoft may get rid of one of the most recognizable symbols in the computer world: the Start button. [Extreme Tech]
The German government has officially endorsed Google Chrome as their preferred browser. [Computer World]
By Jeff Smith, on Thu Feb 9, 2012 at 12:30 PM ET  It does bring him closer to the nomination, due in no small part to his uncanny good fortune. Let’s review.
The woman who rose meteorically to take the Iowa straw poll collapsed upon the entrance of a governor who offered the veneer of tea party rhetoric as strident as hers, but had the backing of mega-donors from the state with more Republican money than any other outside California.
That governor, who was thought to be his leading conservative opponent, turned out to have spent about as much time preparing for the campaign as my students spend preparing for pop quizzes.
When the governor’s lack of preparation became obvious, he was replaced briefly as the national frontrunner by a former pizza executive who made the governor look like Thomas Jefferson.
When the pizza exec showed himself to be completely unfamiliar with some of the most basic facts of foreign policy, and an impressively lecherous fellow to boot, a new frontrunner emerged, one whose national favorable ratings were lower than Nixon’s during impeachment. This man had a record of personal behavior that John Edwards might have been ashamed of combined with an unmatched proclivity to self-destruct, and he proceeded to do so in short order.
The former senator who rose in Iowa at the last moment to replace him as frontrunner had raised less than $1M at the time of his ascent, and lacked any semblance of national campaign infrastructure.
But to Romney’s great good fortune, the man less popular than an impeached Nixon regained enough momentum in the ensuing weeks to ensure that the previous man could not build on his Iowa victory – a victory which was, to Romney’s even greater good fortune, not made official until weeks later, dramatically reducing its impact.
I challenge even the most imaginative journalist or satirist in the nation to conjure another scenario by which the anti-Romney majority could have been so improbably failed to unite.
(Cross-posted, with permission of the author, from Politico’s Arena)
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