A Mea Culpa, and A Few Good Reads

I've determined I'd much rather read than write, which has as much to do with simple laziness as it does with the quality of what I'm reading. Sports, politics, gossip, the politics of sports, the sport of politics, gossip about politicians and athletes...you get the idea. Much of what I read is trash, worth nothing, placed before my eyes to glean one or two nuggets and then be clicked away in favor of the next page, and whatever triviality lives there. But I also come across some great things, fascinating things, that make my search worthwhile. Reading is learning, and encountering that new idea, that new thing, that makes me want to get to the end as soon as possible but also never get there is what it's all about.

Here are a few items that are worth checking out:
A courageous first person account of the author's life as an undocumented, illegal immigrant, who was brought to America as a pre-teen and has lived in fear of deportation to a land he can't even remember ever since. As Congress debates the exceedingly worthy DREAM Act for the umpteenth time, this is especially relevant.

From one of my preferred economics writers is a breakdown of the battle over the deficit currently raging in Washington. Some stark truths: to truly dent deficit, entitlements, not discretionary spending is where the $$$ is; tax increases should be on the table, as average rates are at their lowest since the 1960s; the final package should be a mixture of conservative and liberal ideas; and to slow down rampant healthcare cost inflation, Medicare shouldn't pay for treatments that don't work. For example, read this and try not to rip your hair out.

And now, for the heartwarming: a pair of recently paralyzed college baseball players still were drafted last month. Pretty cool gesture in a sporting world that's usually so cutthroat.


I love the message of hope in this video even more than I do the futuristic product. And the Bond villain accent of the CEO is pretty cool too: "There's no such word as no."



Here's a great clip from the (former) UM strength coach, talking about his work with the paralyzed brother of a UM player. It gets at the basic reason I work out so hard - "No limits".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93Jsf6znYH4&feature=BFa&list=FLPg6XHcL_5bE&index=7