The Economist on "The underworked American"

Once again, the Raving Moderate once again comes down squarely in the middle of the debate about whether Europeans or Americans are truly lazier...

I'm all for American style endless summer vacations for our kids. I'm all for European style, liberal leave policies, too. People need to have time to get to know and/or remember what a little bit of freedom is like. It's worth the educational and economic costs, in my opinion, if it doesn't actually make up for them. Besides, we're all so damn competitive without really having any idea what the point is.

Thanks to Bob Knight for posting the article (linked to the headline above) on his Facebook page!

"N. Korea Sentences 2 U.S. Journalists to 12 Years of Hard Labor "

We need to differentiate nations from their leaders. North Korea is a nation of human beings like any other. Their current leadership, however, appears to be exceptionally lacking in maturity. But the idea that we must retaliate militarily, and it will just be "their fault" also lacks maturity of vision. I hope that any confrontation does not escalate to the point where the people of any nation must suffer from it.