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Indonesia Travel Journal: Improving Infrastructure One Trillion at a Time.

There is a report in the Jakarta Post this morning announcing that the city will begin construction on a sewage system next year. The first phase of the project will take almost 10 years and only serve about 10 percent of the city, but it's a start. In 20 years, a projected expansion plan will reach a quarter of the population.

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Stuff I Want to Learn: Is Privatizing Social Security a Good Idea?

 

I should make clear from the outset that I am not an economist. So this post is more of a question for those of you out there who actually know something about the way economies, and more specifically financial investments, work.

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Is Tim Tebow’s Mother Breaking the Ninth Commandment?

During the Superbowl, Focus on the Family, James Dobson’s group, will run a commercial spot featuring Tim Tebow’s family. Family lore has it that in the late 1980’s, while pregnant and living in the Philippines, Tebow’s mother became ill with amoebic dysentery and doctors there recommended that she abort the pregnancy because they said the medication she took to recover from the illness would cause damage to the fetus.

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Conservatives in Uproar over Activist Supreme Court

Just kidding.

Overturning decades of case law, the Roberts court has now declared that corporations are human beings, at least in the political arena. The majority ignored precedent, opting instead to side with the wealthy and powerful against the individual citizens of a democracy. Can you hear the outrage of the neo-populist conservatives? Yeah, me neither.

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Supreme Court Rules Corporations are King

 

In perhaps the worst decision of all time, the Supreme Court overturned spending limits on campaign contributions from corporations.

The court's 5-4 vote ends a 20-year ban on businesses using money from their own funds to pay for campaign ads.

But US President Barack Obama condemned the decision, pledging to work with Congress for a "forceful response".

Forceful response, huh? I’m not holding my breath.

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Temporary Protection Status for Haitians in the United States: The Right Thing to Do

On Friday, the Obama administration granted temporary protected status to any Haitian immigrants in the United States that were awaiting deportation. That means that about 30,000 Haitians will be able to stay in the United States and work legally for up to 18 months. And in yet another example of Republican projection, Rep Steve King (R-IA) suggested that the order was an example of the “Never let a crisis go to waste” philosophy.

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Indonesian Travel Journal: Best Suggestion Ever

On my way to Jakarta, I had a nine hour layover in Seoul, Korea. As I was planning my trip, I considered spending that time sight-seeing or finding a restaurant with some excellent bi bim bop. But then I realized I would be tired and grimy, so then I decided to try to find out if there was any place at the Seoul airport where I could take a shower. I was explaining this idea to a friend who frequently travels to India and she made a suggestion that changed my entire trip. She said, “Why don’t you look for a day-rate hotel?” Whichever hotel maven thought up this idea was a genius.

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Indonesian Travel Journal: How to Pack

Step 1: Wake up early, determined to finish packing up at least one room.

Step 2: Check email.

Step 3: Check Dagblog.

Step 4: Check Facebook.

Step 5: Read news.

Step 6: Shower.

Step 7: Head next door to see what the family is up to. (Wii!)

Step 8: Play Lego Star Wars on the Wii

Step 9: Play Just Dance on the Wii (FREAKING AWESOME!)

Step 10: Have lunch with a friend you won't see for a couple years at least.

Step 11: Get home from lunch determined to finish the room by dinner.

Step 12: Order some shoes online.

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Biography
Orlando is a teacher and aspiring novelist, living a mysterious and reclusive life somewhere in Asia. She used to live a reclusive and mysterious life somewhere in Indiana until Mitch Daniels and Mike Pence became national figures, making it far too humiliating to continue residing there. In her spare time, she travels the world--or her small part of it--snapping pictures and writing down random thoughts to share with the dagblog crowd.

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