"A roundabout in rural Wisconsin is tricked out with decorative brick, intense landscaping and a "complete street" despite there being little to no chance of pedestrians. This is happening while funds for urban improvements -- where there actually are people walking -- remain elusive."
"As some of you know, I'm currently mired in the search for a new car to replace my ancient Range Rover daily driver, which I've had for the last five years or so. One of the cars on my short list of Range Rover replacements is the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Wagon -- and while I can't afford a newer 2014-2016 model, I've been eyeing them anyway, because they're perfect for me: cool, high tech, all-wheel-drive (good for winter!) and exciting to drive.
So I found a nice E63 Wagon for sale on Autotrader, and I sent it to my friend Peri, and he replied: "You know that one has carbon ceramic brakes, right?" Apparently, the gold-colored calipers give it away."
"Carbon ceramic brakes? In a luxury station wagon?"
"I looked it up, and Peri was right. Beginning in 2014, Mercedes-Benz started offering carbon ceramic brakes as an option on the E63 AMG and the E63 AMG Wagon -- and not just any option, but an option with a sticker price of just under $13,000. Mind you, the base price of a 2014 E63 AMG Wagon was only $103,400. This single option was nearly 13 percent of the car's entire price. Imagine, if you will, a $2,500 single option on a Toyota Camry."
I never understood the appeal of McMansions. If you want to build a house of modern materials, why wouldn't you do a modern design rather then pretending to be old fashioned look make out of vinyl? Why wouldn't a modern home look more like Frank Lloyd Wright's designs, with lots of plate glass and long roof lines and lush landscaping around?
"GROSS: So you think that having, say, investment banks settle for large fines is not an adequate punishment. Why not?"
"EISINGER: I don't think it deters crime. And I think it undermines the sense of equity and justice in this country. I think people see companies paying big checks and the individuals getting away with it. And I think it stokes an enormous amount of anger with the system and undermines the legitimacy of our justice system, especially because we have a justice system which excessively punishes the poor and people of color while allowing top corporate executives, powerful people, off. We talk about inequality in this country, but I argue that the greatest perquisite of being powerful and wealthy in this country is the ability to commit crimes with impunity."
"At the same time the number of police officers has increased in the US. There are a quarter of a million more police officers working today than there were three decades ago."
"So when you consider the number of officers killed per 100,000, there has been a dramatic decrease. The annual per capita number of officers killed has dropped from 24 per 100,000 in the 10 years to 1980 to 7.3 per 100,000 in the 10 years to 2013 (the last year for which there is good data)."
"This chimes with a bigger trend, which is a steady reduction in crime, including homicides."
"Though construction began in the 1960s, the building would not be inaugurated until decades later. The station was initially designed by Ram Karmi in 1967 but eventually completed in 1993 by architects Yael Rothshild and Moti Bodek. The project became something of a white elephant, a nickname recognized rather overtly during the opening ceremony when a white elephant balloon dropped in on the festivities."
"My video introducing this hideous 1983 Chrysler Lebaron marks a new era for my YouTube channel. I have invested thousands in new recording equipment in hopes my videos quit resembling amateur YouTube posts from 10 years ago. So what do I create with all of this new tech? I "Rick Roll" everybody -- which, coincidentally, quit being funny on YouTube about 10 years ago."
