Time to Reboot America

Op-Ed Columnist - Time to Reboot America - NYTimes.com

I don't always agree with Friedman, but I certainly agree with the thrust of this article. Anyone who has gone from Seoul to the States has seen this as well (though there is also lots of counter-evidence). How can you not be stricken by the speed with which new technologies are delivered and how the government promotes (however awkwardly) the city/country as a destination for foreign travel and investment.

In my home city of Chicago, I had always thought of the El (elevated train) as a convenient, expedient way of making my way through the city. After years in Seoul enjoying one of the best subway systems in the world, I was embarrassed by the El on a recent trip home. The trains and stations were filthy, the cars smelled (not uncommon in Seoul), the tickets costly, and the pace was excruciatingly slow. It seems as if I could have walked the journey as fast as the El traveled.

Without a sincere focus on the infrastructure of America, we will experience a fall in prominence in my lifetime that mirrors the rise experienced during my Grandfather's.

Tolerance fails t-shirt test

First, let me say that I love this little girl.  What a great experiment.  I just wish that I had thought about it.

A middleschool student in Oak Park, IL decided to do an experiment.  She wore a "McCain Girl" t-shirt one day and an "Obama Girl" shirt the next.  She wrote down all of the comments that she recieved on each day.  

The results were what you'd expect from middleschoolers (older folks are more likely to screw you behind the scenes).  She was treated with contempt for wearing the McCain shirt and praised for the Obama shirt.

She did this with the approval of the history teacher who used it as part of a lesson after the results were in.  From my point of view, it's a great experiment and a great beginning to her research career (though she luckily didn't have to go through human subjects approval).