blivet 2.0

• Figures of Speech – Teach a Kid to Argue
  Garret pointed to this and I am appreciative.
  "Most Americans seem to avoid argument. But this has produced passive aggression and groupthink in the office, red and blue states, and families unable to discuss things as simple as what to watch on television. Rhetoric doesn’t turn kids into back-sassers; it makes them think about other points of view."
  (tags: lifehacks education psychology parenting logic rhetoric via:garret)

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• ScienceDirect – Intelligence : Conservatism and cognitive ability
  (tags: via:doug psychology research politics conservatism)
• Wordpress Theme Development Frameworks | Developer's Toolbox | Smashing Magazine
  "This post is not about finding the best framework, it is about finding the right framework that works for you. If you are an experienced developer then you will probably go for the powerful and feature rich Thematic or Carrington, or if you are a novice, you could try the Whiteboard framework or , even easier, download a stripped out and bare bones blank canvas theme, which you will find at the bottom of the post." [via Garret]
  (tags: wp wordpress webdev blog wordpress-themes via:garret)

• Why Do You Work So Hard? / Is it maybe time to quit your safe job and follow your path and infuriate the establishment?
  Single payer health care is one thing that would free many to pursue their dreams. Working for someone else sucks.
  (tags: lifehacks productivity career advice entrepreneur via:doug)
• A Hidden Drip, Drip, Drip Beneath Earth's Surface – US National Science Foundation (NSF)
  Geologists find "blob" of material beneath the U.S. West Great Basin
  New seismic images of Earth's mantle beneath the Great Basin show a "lithospheric drip." [via Brian at dogyears]
  (tags: nsf geology Great+Basin via:dogyears)

• The Inner Worlds Of Conspiracy Believers / Science News
  "Most participants expressed either no support or weak support for 16 conspiracy beliefs about 9/11. These beliefs included: “The World Trade Center towers were brought down by a controlled demolition” and, “Individuals within the U.S. government knew of the impending attacks and purposely failed to act on that knowledge.”
  Much as Swami’s team suspected, beliefs in 9/11 conspiracy theories were stronger among individuals whose personalities combined suspicion and antagonism toward others with intellectual curiosity and an active imagination."
  (tags: psychology conspiracy)
• Nanomaker's Toolkit / Science News
  Very cool. via Aaron (Dresden Codak)
  (tags: nanomaker nano science nanbots)

• The Quiet Coup – The Atlantic (May 2009)
  "The crash has laid bare many unpleasant truths about the United States. One of the most alarming, says a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, is that the finance industry has effectively captured our government—a state of affairs that more typically describes emerging markets, and is at the center of many emerging-market crises. If the IMF’s staff could speak freely about the U.S., it would tell us what it tells all countries in this situation: recovery will fail unless we break the financial oligarchy that is blocking essential reform. And if we are to prevent a true depression, we’re running out of time." via Pat at 42
  (tags: politics economics corruption finance economy financialcrisis bailout capitalism imf banking)
• Colorado dust storms speed snowmelt in the West – Los Angeles Times
  "An unusually high number of the storms has left a film of dust on the Rocky Mountain snowpack, causing it to melt earlier and forcing farmers to adjust. This could be the new normal, scientists say." [via Brian]
  (tags: environment climate globalwarming climatechange via:dogyears)
• Rx and the single payer | Bill Moyers and Michael Winship | Salon
  "Americans may want single-payer healthcare, but that doesn't mean they're going to get it." Damn it.
  (tags: moyers healthcare obama singlepayer progressive insurance)

• Rep. Dennis Kucinich Calls for Cheney's Testimony Before Congress & For Americans To Encourage President Obama | AfterDowningStreet.org
  Kucinich Wants Cheney Under Oath.
  Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH-10) called for former Vice-President Richard Bruce Cheney's testimony before Congress yesterday during an interview with ABCNews' Top Line. "I think that Mr. Cheney should be brought before the Congress, made to raise his right hand, and have to testify about the statements he made that took us into a war, that created an increased national security problem for the United States," Kucinich said.
  (tags: Kucinich Cheney iraq bush torture)