Don't Fear Starbucks: Why the franchise actually helps mom and pop coffeehouses, from Slate

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Holy Nonsense: Mitt Romney's windy, worthless speech, from Slate, courtesy of Alison.

BSNYC TV: Putting Bikes on the Air.

But Doc, the Dog's Already Dead!: How to say no to your vet, from Slate.

The iPhone Freedom Fighters: Don't be afraid: Unlocking Apple's superphone is legal, ethical, and just plain fun, from Slate.

Ayn Rand's Literature of Capitalism, from The New York Times.

The War as They Saw It, from Slate. Also Lost Voices: Why the deaths of Yance T. Gray and Omar Mora are particularly galling, from Slate.

The Magnificent Seven: Soldiers pen a jaw-dropping NYT op-ed about the war in Iraq, from Slate. Also: The War as We Saw It, from The New York Times.

Lobes of Steel, from The New York Times.

Thank God, This Will Only Get Worse, from The New York Times.

Making a Mark with Rockets and Roadsters, from NPR.

American Leadership and War, from Maps of War.

China Drinks Its Milk, from the BBC, courtesy of Heather.

How a fake word from The Simpsons ended up in a perfectly cromulent string theory paper, from Scientific American, courtesy of Heather.

The Real Dr. House, from Discover magazine.

Pack mentality: Cut deals with the enemy, maximize liquidity, punish the welshers, and other free-market lessons of the typical bike race, from Fortune.

Oscar the cat predicts patients' deaths, from The Boston Globe.

For Athletes, an Invisible Traffic Hazard, from The New York Times. Sigh.

The Story of Roy, from Crazy Aunt Purl.

The Devil Wears Microsoft?

Cycling's Biggest Dopes: A reader's guide to the new Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis books, from Slate.

Flight of the Conchords. Wow. Just wow.

The connection: When Ken met Emira, they changed each other's worlds, from The Boston Globe, courtesy of Robin. Great story.

Freakonomics: Payback Time, from The New York Times.

The Cat Blog... Pippy Style.

Rocky II, III, IV Decisions Overturned After Stallone Caught With Performance-Enhancing Drugs, from The Onion, courtesy of Brad M.

The Difference Between Boys and Girls, from Fat Cyclist.

Plastic Ocean: Our oceans are turning into plastic...are we?, from Best Life.

In Tennessee, Goats Eat the ‘Vine That Ate the South’, from The New York Time.

Why Chinese is So Damn Hard, from Pinyin, courtesy of Kevin.

President Bush Reaches Out to Nation's Fallen Bees, from The Onion Radio News, courtesy of Heather.

This American Life Completes Documentation Of Liberal, Upper-Middle-Class Existence, from The Onion, courtesy of Heather.

Chad Vader.

Fix the AMT (But Not Yet): The looming Alternative Minimum Tax catastrophe, and why the Democrats shouldn't try to prevent it, from Slate.

General Knowledge: Why no one wants to be Bush's war czar, from Slate.

ECCC's "Ask a Pro" Forum on leg-shaving, from Slate.

The Hospital: Daddy gets a guilt trip, from Slate.

Doris Kearns Goodwin on The Daily Show.

The Woman Warrior at 30:
Maxine Hong Kingston's secrets and lies, from Slate.

Meow Meow Mr. Rogers for President Meow, from Mason-Dixon Knitting.

The Women’s War, from The New York Times.

A Good Run for Your Money: What's the best way to loan a poor entrepreneur $20?, from Slate.

Carbon confusion: Buying emission offsets is a challenge for consumers, from Slate.

How the Rich Sleep: New York Times dispatches from the bed wars, from Slate.

How the Rich Sleep: New York Times dispatches from the bed wars, from Slate.

Race Report: The Newark Hilton Stationary Bike Cycling Championships, from Fat Cyclist.

Cat bag apparel irks Florida officials, from the Boston Globe. The rapper who is a cat: "He's got the hottest beats and the softest fur." Yes, this is related to the Globe story. I am easily amused.

Japan resorts to manga propaganda, from AP, courtesy of Rachel.

The Romantic Life of Brainiacs, from the Boston Globe, courtesy of Heather.

How Not to Talk to Your Kids: The Inverse Power of Praise, from New York Magazine, courtesy of Heather.

Viewpoint, from Times Online, courtesy of Heather.

What should I put in my spy kit?, from Ask MetaFilter

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Want To Buy My Students a $392 Camcorder? A nonprofit uses the Web to work marketplace magic, from Slate.

Monsters: Have I screwed up my daughters forever?, from Slate.

Cycling the Silk Road, from Slate.

Worth a second look: Fat Cyclist's An Open Letter to Assos, response from Swiss doctor and response to the response, and an inside joke.

Unhappy Meals, from The New York Times Magazine.

Cure for Colic?: Hope for a pediatrician's miracle treatment, from Slate.

The Movie Hollywood Doesn't Want You To See: Idiocracy, the feel-bad comedy of the year, from Slate. This review oversells the movie a bit. The intro.

Wiki-Parenting: How babies invented community-based collaborative authorship, from Slate.

The Purloined Sirloin: Why is meat the most shoplifted item in America?, from Slate.

Dealing with pomegranates, from Gourmet's Choptalk.

The George W. Bush Speechwriter is "a Flash Application that lets you build speeches using his own words and voice" (ReadyMade Blog).

Dirty Work: What are the jobs Americans won't do?, from Slate.

Giving Birth in Berkeley: The father's perspective, from Slate. The rest of the Dad Again columns.

Bob's Quick Guide to the Apostrophe, You Idiots, from Angry Flower.

An Appreciation: From Father to Son, Last Words to Live By, from The New York Times.

America's Top Jefferson, from the Colbert Report, courtesy of Dad.