A distinction without a meaningful difference.

Of course Barack Obama is a different kind of president than Mitt Romney would be, but the differences are few and far between, and rarely occur on the most pressing of issues. To the extent that you doubt this claim, take a look at this stunning chart created by the campaign of Rocky Anderson who, despite the fact that his campaign is almost totally being ignored by the media, is also running for President of the United States. And further ask yourself how it can possibly be that Anderson's campaign and other parties that have much to add to the national conversation, will be excluded from any presidential "debates."

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Stressed out men prefer larger women

According to this article at Scientific American, stressed out men prefer larger women.

The stressed out guys preferred a larger body size than their relaxed counterparts – but that was not all. “Men experiencing stress not only perceive a heavier female body size as maximally attractive, but also more positively perceive heavier female body sizes and have a wider range of body sizes considered physically attractive,” explain the authors.
The authors offer an evolutionary explanation. These sorts of explanations are always interesting, but whether they are legit or merely just-so-stories remains to be seen.

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NASA vs. Air Conditioning the Desert?

Dollars are fungible (and see here). So what's the better value? Space exploration or a 10 year military occupation? Believe it or not, the U.S. has been spending a similar amount on each, year after year. Come to think of it, does endless war have any value to anyone other than politicians and military contractors?

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Ireland is getting less religious

I had long thought of Ireland as being a country where most people followed a religion. That's changing fast, according to a recent article in the Telegraph:

The Republic of Ireland is abandoning religion faster than almost every other country worldwide, a massive global survey on faith reveals. An overwhelming 69% of Irish people declared themselves to be "a religious person" in the last survey conducted in 2005, but this has now plummeted to 47%.

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