Newmark's Door

National Geographic lists 52. I think I can claim full credit for three and partial credit for another three. Maybe when I'm retired . . .

And here's ABC News's "10 Most Spectacular Drives in the World". Almost no overlap with the Geographic list.

Wendell Cox, NewGeography, 8/4/08:

One of the most enduring urban myths suggests that most jobs are in the core of metropolitan areas, making commuting from the far suburbs more difficult. Thus, as fuel prices have increased, many have expected that people will begin moving from farther out in the suburbs to locations closer to the cores. . . .

These findings suggest that much of the conversation about convenience and location between suburbs and cities has been distorted. The notion of suburbanites, particularly in the outer ring, enduring long commutes needs to be re-examined as should the efficiency of high dense employment centers. 

Donald Luskin reviews very favorably David Wessel's In Fed We Trust.

And I'm quite convinced that it's completely accurate. I know lots of the firefighters at the Fed, the Treasury, and the White House. Wessel's account perfectly matches what they were telling me in real-time. One very highly-placed contact at the Fed told me three weeks ago that he had read Wessel's book, and that every detail was exactly right. So if you want to know what really happened -- not just some reporter's sensationalistic interpretation -- then this is the book for you.  

A great bit by Father Guido Sarducci.

In five minutes you learn what the average college graduate remembers five years after he or she is out of school.

Were you looking forward to the day when the Party of the People held the White House and large majorities in both houses of Congress? So that we would, finally, have a government that served the People and not lobbyists?

Guess again. Read the profile of Heather Podesta, described by the Washington Post as a "hottie"--wait, isn't that terribly insulting and sexist? Oh, I forgot: such language is objectionable only when certain people use it, not the WaPo--and the "insider's insider".

Energy business to conduct? The Podestas hosted a fundraiser in June for Rep. Henry Waxman of California, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Money matters? Fundraiser back in April for Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Health care? Fundraiser in June for Reid.

Oh yeah, things are so different now.