¡Viva Chile! ¡Viva Tejas!

Austin American Statesman

Yes, congratulations to the Chilean Miners. May their sea bass always be fluffy and tender. All kidding aside, it really is a heartwarming story. And now, back to the usual mielda:

Atascosa county, in Texas, sent out absentee ballots with the flag of Chile instead of the Texas banner. Nobody even noticed until Troy Knudson, an absentee voter in Japan doing graduate work, caught it. After seeing the mistake, he told the Austin American-Statesman, "I guess it's funny in some way, but my initial reaction was more disbelief that no one had noticed."[also here]

Incidentally I've decided that I'm definitely voting for Bill White, or voting for Deb Shafto, or not voting.

Xymphora discusses his reasons for believing aid worker Linda Norgrove was murdered. They strike me as pretty plausible. Besides, why do you even take grenades along on a rescue mission?

"it's always interesting to find out how the Democratic foreign policy establishment are not just scumbags, but scumbags in exactly the same way the Republican foreign policy establishment are."

-Jonathan Schwarz, "No good idea ever dies"

Two from Business Week, which has apparently been gobbled up by the Bloomberg media empire:

One: Man Who Had No Mortgage Faced Foreclosure Anyway:

Jason Grodensky paid cash for a South Florida home last December. With no mortgage and full ownership, he had no fear of foreclosure.

And Two: Why Business Doesn't Trust the Tea Party:

The Tea Party's small-government slogans may be appealing, but its policies could throw the U.S. economy into chaos

(Well, appealing to some...)