Isn't this exciting! (Not.)

Oops!

Zika Outbreak Epicenter in Same Area Where GM Mosquitoes Were Released in 2015

The Ascendance of Sociopaths in U.S. Governance

Is this guy "over the top"? Or is he onto something?

Is it true that "All the institutions that made America exceptional - including a belief in capitalism, individualism, self-reliance, and the restraints of the Constitution - are now only historical artifacts"?

Casey writes:

You may recall the ethologist’s characterization of the social interaction of rats as being between a few alpha rats and many beta rats, the alpha rats being dominant and the beta rats submissive. In addition, a small percentage are gamma rats that stake out prime territory and mates, like the alphas, but are not interested in dominating the betas. The people most inclined to leave for the wide world outside and seek fortune elsewhere are typically gamma personalities.

What do you think? Are you an alpha, a beta, or a gamma?

What about his suggestion that "the 50,000 [TSA agents] are exactly the same type of people who joined the Gestapo - eager to help in the project of controlling everyone"? 

The Ascendance of Sociopaths in U.S. Governance | International Man

Buying Vs. Renting (A Home Buyer's Guide, Part 1)

An excellent first-order analysis of just one part of the mortgage question.

I've done some of these analyses myself and been shocked to see how truly awful most counsel is concerning paying off our mortgages. (You don't want to pay it down quickly! . . . But you do want to place your "extra" money--not spent on the mortgage--in a safe place . . . like, for starters, high cash value [i.e., just below the MEC line], participating, whole life insurance with a PUA rider. . . .) And then, once you have built your safe money base, you want to use the "excess" cash in your policy [beyond the safe money base] to invest in safe, cash-flowing investments that will give you at least high single- if not low double-digit returns.)

More on these other items at another time.

For now, however, check out Kim Butler's Buying Vs. Renting (A Home Buyer's Guide, Part 1).