I'm pretty sure they will still be fighting over Israel in 2 trillion years, even if it's a radioactive magma swamp.

Can I sue the makers of BabyGen if my kid fails algebra?

Customization doesn't seem to be a terribly high priority for Apple software. Besides which, the unlocked bootloader allows one to easily violate the FCC terms, one of which forbids changing the "intended method of using the product (e.g., how the product is held or used in proximity to the body). A change to any of these factors will invalidate the FCC grant." So perhaps CM7 enabling a 270 degree screen rotation (upside-down landscape) is a gross federal violation.

Penny from Big Bang Theory. Jenna from 30 Rock. Laurie from Cougar Town. Brittany from Glee. Harmony from Buffy. Claire from Heroes. Lana from Smallville. Amanda from Ugly Betty. Jessica Simpson from herself. Lindsay from Arrested Development. Quendra from Community.

Shall I go on?

Thank god we have Slashdot on which to repost all these important Facebook status updates.

1) Representativess cast their votes.
2) Each rep's vote is broadcast to his constituency.
3) Constituents vote to either approve the rep's vote or force him to abstain.

How's that for accountability?

PageRank is designed around the 'random surfer' model (15% chance to jump to a random webpage) and returns the probability that a surfer will arrive back at the same page after a large number of links. A node that only has two edges can easily have the highest PageRank.

If all they want is to find highly-connected nodes, then the Oracle of Bacon-style average length solution would work just as well.

Those states are also ALL in the top 6 for lowest average teacher salaries. The causation is clear.

You think those unions have more of an effect than the fact that American society doesn't want to raise scientists and nerds? More important than the ever-slipping knowledge requirements for a given grade? Every couple of years we teach a certain age group even less than we used to, and increase the best incomes on the planet for managers and athletes. Culturally we foster ideas like, "you don't need to know this algebra" or "truth is about what you feel is right" or "if anyone makes you feel bad, just sue".
The military gets over fifteen times the federal funding that education does, because state and local taxes are supposed to pay for it? Thank god we are keeping with the resigned "some areas just deserve shitty schools" position; it really paints us as the most developed country.

Yeah, that movie gave me the courage to upgrade from a lowly window-peeper to the full-time, restraining-order-crossing stalker of Marissa Tomei I am today.

When you take out a student loan, are you pocketing the cash? No, you are immediately paying your tuition. The schools are owed nothing, they are extorting on behalf of the lender.

I always took the swaths of free mailed coasters as a sign that my friends and I should drink more.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to PROVE that your consumer electronics will not interfere with the avionics. It is even more difficult to prove that the other 150 passengers' electronics will not do so, when they are all broadcasting different packets at different frequencies. Obviously, for an organization in charge of this sort of thing (FAA), the only easy choice is to say, "Do not use wireless transceivers during the most critical points of flight." No, breaking this rule doesn't bring down the craft. But guess how many on-board cell phones the plane is rated for? Zero.

Sell treasure maps to bags of 'potpourri' or 'green tea' on ebay?

I have seen this tragic attitude on Native American reservations as well. The parents openly ridicule education and root for their children to fail, so that they will stay at home for their entire lives. It is a terrible cycle and is yet another contributing factor to the cultural suicide they seem intent on committing.