His first and second points really could help cut down on gas prices. A big part of why oil prices are dropping while gas prices are rising are mysterious, Enron-esqe, refinery shutdowns and pipeline delays. Vertical integration puts both the delivery systems and the retail outlets in that hands of the same corporations.

As for the Clear Air Act enforcement issue, gas companies claim that a large part of the problem their having in effectively supplying the country is reformulating their gas stocks to fit the numerous "boutique" fuel compositions that various state laws require. What do you want to bet that Energy Department officials as loosened their testing of said compositions over the past, say, 6 years and 4 months?

If you were a running a gas company, under an administration that had the hots for you, wouldn't you jack up your prices, not change your fuel to comply with regional laws, and then claim that changing your fuel to comply with regional laws was causing the price increase? If you wouldn't then your tenure at the company might not last that long.

He clearly thinks we could learn something from their "keep-it-simple-stupid" techniques. He probably also thinks that we have a "blade gap".

Not feeding the troll hasn't worked. Now it's time to try feeding it Ipecac.

To figure out if the dimensions of Yankee Stadium helped Ruth amass his numbers you need to look at how many home runs per year were hit in each ball park. Just tracking road team home runs would help control for big slugging teams (like the Yankees of that era). Obviously at that point the home team's pitching efforts would have a large impact, but over a few decades that should even out.

Just because Ruth only hit 7 more home runs at home than on the road doesn't mean that the stadium wasn't designed for the long ball. It could just mean that Ruth would have otherwise hit less home runs at home. Bonds has hit more home runs on the road (375) than at home (371), though few would disagree that Pac Bell Park's design helps him.

The World Bank has never been a reality based organization.

The "Washington Consensus" dogma is so ridiculous and malicious it could have been written by Falwell.

They were right to kill Deadwood. Regardless of who was at fault, the third season was so bad Wu's pigs wouldn't have choked it down.

I caught most of the Jemele Hill web chat before ESPN put it behind a pay wall. It was shockingly awful. Either she just can't get her point across in writing (inexcusable in a journalist) or her thought process is at best chaotic, incoherent and juvenile.

"At least Bowen's various kicks and clips and undercuts are performed in the service of playing defense."

Bullshit.

However dirty Horry's foul was, Nash was going to get up and be ready to play in the next game. Bowen intentionally threatens players' seasons every time he "defends" with his kicks and undercuts. It is literally dangerous play and should be treated just like it is in hockey and soccer.

Warning-suspension-banishment.

So on Thursday he said that "last night" was divine intervention.

His daughter's surgery was Wednesday morning.

His big shot was Wednesday night and his team won.

So the "Lord" cares about a basketball game? More than his daughter's health?

aka Tyler Perry... he would be as authentic a women as the rest of them.

Everybody is obviously free to believe or disbelieve results of the study. But you know who is going to believe and adopt the basic points of the study into their very core?

Odds-makers.

Given the fireworks this past week over the Refs vs Baron and Stephen, this new study out is basically going to dump kerosene over the whole thing.

White refs call fouls on black players at a statistically significant higher rate.

Black refs call fouls on white player at statistically significant higher rate (though with only half the difference of the white ref/black player situation).

http://bpp.wharton.upenn.edu/jwolfers/Papers/NBARace.pdf

Given that the majority of players are black and that the majority of refs are white the study's authors jokingly suggest that teams spray-painting their players white could win a few more games every season.

Where is Gilbert Arenas when we need him?

Why even call him an economist? He served as their spokesman, the "chief economist" label was just lipstick on the pig. Did he do anything the past 3 years besides lie to the press in an effort to pimp the real estate market. Who is going to replace him at the NAR, Ron Popeil?

If you are comparing what our government does in the name of freedom and security to what groups of thugs and terrorists do then you've pretty much already made our point for us.

Would you rather be a "suspected terrorist" in whatever unnamed prison we've set up to replace Abu Ghraib or an American captured by Islamic terrorists. Two to three years of torture followed by either possible release or death(if they just decide "forget" they have you in custody) OR ... 4-5 weeks of torture followed by near certain death. We'd all probably choose the U.S. prison experience and hope but the idea that there is any moment of pause when choosing between the two is what is so upsetting.