Marjorie Wolfe, Nilsson on Colbert, Chuck Klosterman, Dan Grobstein File

Always glad to plug a new posting by a regular contributor: Putting Things In Perspective by Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe.

Bob Nilsson writes:

In spite of the generally negative reaction from the “serious” media, Colbert’s congressional testimony was not only funny, but had some serious points to make. And despite statements to the contrary, he did not actually stay in character through-out. (Colbert starts at 56:35 into the video)

A friend who is also a Chuck Klosterman fan sends this very funny Rolling Stone review of the Beatles' reissue a few years back.

Dan Grobstein File

• It's the Secaucus Junction Railroad station which should have been built 50 years ago. Tracks from several legacy rail lines run parallel at that point and they finally built a station to allow transfers between the lines which importantly lets people transfer to a Manhattan bound train rather than going to Hoboken and taking the PATH. And also Newark Airport service. And the Post Office is basically privatized for that last 25 years. And it has to provide universal service, something that FedEx and UPS do not have to do. Reagan National Airport and George Bush International Airport were named after living people. Double standard?
  
  also the reason the post office shows a deficit is not because mail volume is down. it is because they account for their pension contributions correctly as opposed to just about everybody else who think that they can make up the shortfall through the stock market.
  
  also i was glad to see senator d'amato defeated for re-election.
  
  Alfonse D'Amato calls out racist on Fox News
  Forget about the tired old "let's privatize everything" story and check out D'Amato teeing off on the racist. I never thought of D'Amato as being someone who would take such a hard line so it's surprising. (The response to the racist starts almost five minutes in.) It makes you wonder how far left in the GOP he would be if he was still in the Senate.
• (Too bad it wasn't invented here. Guess we'll never get something like that. )  The streetcar network in Bordeaux is fantastic. No overhead wires! The third rail is underground and only live when the tram passes over.
• Good idea. The prison industrial complex is out of control. We have too many low level prisoners cohere isn't enough rehab and treatment programs. (would really save money). And constitutionally we should protect prisoners from attack while in prison (cruel and unusual punishment).
  
  From The New York Times: Missouri Tells Judges Cost of Sentences Judges in Missouri, in a hotly debated practice, are now told how much each type of sentence costs.
• Another big week of contributions: see Dan-O-Rama for the rest